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BF.C  1 1 1939 


Thm  cfiiil«i%  Run 


ITsT 


m&4 


1 


-A-ZSTID 


LORA 


Editor  of  the  Vermont  Union,  Lyndon,  Vermont. 
1882. 


f  he  Vermont  Virion, 

LYNDON,  VERMONT, 

(ESTABLISHED  I3ST  1865  IBY  C.  1VL.  OH-A^SE.) 


The  UNION  is*largely  devoLed  to  HOME  NEWS,  and  in  this  department  is  always 
full,  fresh,  racy  and  wide  awake,  independent,  and  just  a  grain  "sassy."    It  is  ac- 
knowledged to  be  THE  HOME  1'Al'K!',  of  North  Eastern  Vermont. '  It  has  al- 
ready reached  a  circulation  of 

<$ftm&  MM  iilMillai'i*. 

and  is  consequently  read  bj-  over  10,000  persons  every  week.     Its  coming  is  most 
anxiously  looked  for,  and  this  fact  renders  it 

The  Most  VALUABLE  ADVERTISING  MEDIUM  in  Existence, 

to  reach   the   people  of  Caledonia.   Essex,   parts  of  Orleans,  and  the  Northern 
part  of  Orange  counties. 

TERMS-$S,00  PERYE4R  INADVANCE. 

ADVEKTISIAO  TERMS. 

1  inch  1  week  $1.00,  each  subsequent  week  -2.">  cents.  2  inches  1  week  *\.1~>,  each 
subsequent  week  40  cents.  :i  inches  1  week  $2.50,  eacli  subsquent  week  "><i  cents.  A 
reasonable  discount  for  more  space,  or  contracts  by  the  year.  Transient  advertise- 
ments to  be  paid  for  in  advance.    For  particulars  address 

0.  M.  OHA8E,  Peqfexetqr. 


LYNDON  CARRIAGE  CO., 

X.3TlSriD03Sr3  -VERIMIOISTT, 

Manufacturers  of 

CARRIAGES,  SLEIGHS  AND  HARNESSES, 

DEALERS  Iff 

Carriage  Furnishings  of  all  Kinds. 

This  Factory  has  had  an  existence  of  thirty-five  years,  and  during  the  time  its  aim 
has  been  to  build  only 

THE!  MOST  SUBSTANTIAL  VEHICLES. 

Many  of  its  buggies  of  twenty  years  ago  are  still  in  use,  and  GOOD  FOB  A 
QUARTER  OF  A  CENTURY  YET. 

Orders  for  Carriages   from  DISTANT  PARTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY 

promptly  filled,  built  as  thorough  and  sold  as  cheap  as  if  persons 

ordering  came  themselves. 


"The  Editors  Run." 

This  is  a  book  of    240    pages,    printed    in  large, 
clear  type,  on  best  book  paper,  and  contains  28  let- 
ters, from  all  the  growing   towns  between    Denver, 
Colorado,     and  El  Paso,    Texas,  on  the  subjects  of 
Stock     Raising,     Agriculture,     Territorial     History, 
Game,  Society,  Growing  Towns,  Prices  of  land,  lots, 
labor  and  living,  profits  of  investments,  prospects  of 
the  Territory,    with  frequent  allusions  to  the     c 'Gov- 
ernor," the    .Hearty  Invalid,     the  Pueblo    Maiden, 
and  other  subjects  of  interest,  including     "Lo,     the 
Poor  Indian/'  Rustlerj,  Roughs,  Cow    Boys  &c.      It 
is  written  in  an  off  hand,  entertaining  style  and  con- 
tains  several  good  illustrations.      Any  one     thinking 
of  emigrating  to  any  of  the    towns  among   the    foot 
hills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  can  read  this  book  and 
know  all  about  this  country  and  its  inducements  be- 
fore he  starts.     Price    75  cents      For     sale    at    the 
book  stores,  or  sent  to  any  address,  post  paid,  by  re- 
mitting 75  cents  to  C.   M.   Chase,  Lyndon,   Vt. 


THIS  IS  NOT  THE  EDITOR, 
IT  IS  A  MEXICAN  BURRO,  OR  FREIGHT  TEAM. 


THE  EDITOR'S  RUN 


New  Mexico  and  Colorado 


EMBRACING 


TWENTY-EIGHT  LETTERS  ON  STOCK  RAISING,  AGRICULTURE, 
TERRITORIAL  HISTORY,  GAME,  SOCIETY,  GROWING 
TOWNS,  PRICES,  PROSPECTS,  &c,  WITH  OC- 
CASIONAL ALLUSION  TO  "THE  GOV- 
ERNOR,"   THE    HEARTY    INVA- 
LID, THE  PUEBLO  MAIDEN, 
AND  OTHER   SUBJECTS 
OF  TERRITORIAL 
INTEREST. 


Editor  of  the  'Vermont  Union 
lyndon,  vermont. 


FSrct 


6S 


PRINTED  AT  THE 


rr^lOT"  ST£  . 

°°^and3°3 


MONTPELIER,  VERMONT. 
1882. 


ancroft  Libaay 


Just  One  Word. 


These  Runs  are  not  published  because  the  Editor  considers 
them  a  contribution  to  the  literature  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
nor  because  the  Governor,  the  Invalid,  and  the  Pueblo  maiden 
are  anxious  to  see  them  in  book  form.  Their  anxiety  does 
not  tend  in  that  direction.  Nor  are  they  published  as  careful- 
ly prepared  letters  on  the  places  visited,  nor  as  exhaustive  ar- 
ticles on  the  subjects  discussed.  They  were  written  on  the 
^  run,  or  in  the  cars,  while  passing  from  place  to  place,  and  are 
\«  consequently  without  method.  They  appeared  in  the  Union 
with  many  imperfections,  in  the  form  now  presented,  they 
are  revised  and  corrected,  but  not  materially  changed,  except 
in  a  few  instances,  where  they  are  somewhat  enlarged.  The 
publication  has  been  prompted  by  the  general  demand  for 
information  respecting  New  Mexico,  and  if,  to  some  extent 
these  letters  supply  that  demand  without  ruining  the  literary 
reputation  of  the  author,  the  object  will  be  accomplished. 


il 


C.  M.  CHASE. 
Lyndon,  Vt.,  May  1,  1882. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1882,  by 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress 
AT  WASHINGTON. 


THE  EDITOR'S  RUN 


PASSING  THROUGH  CANADA— CLOSE  QUARTERS— CANADIAN  STAND- 
STILL—A MOTHER'S  PATIENCE— DUNNING  THE  WRONG   MAN. 


On  the  Train,  October  8,  1881. 
Dear  Reader : 

We,  the  Governor  and  I,  left  Montreal  last  night  at  10 
o'clock.  Of  course,  during  the  time  of  cheap  rates  to  Chi- 
cago every  car  is  crowded,  but  we  managed  to  get  accommo- 
dations in  a  sleeper  by  consenting  to  occupy  an  upper  berth 
together.  When  the  berth  was  made,  the  company  failed  to 
get  my  measure,  and  made  it  six  inches  too  short.  However, 
at  midnight  we  climbed  in.  I  took  a  position  in  the  form  of 
a  new  moon  on  the  back  side,  and  the  Governor  appropriated 
the  remaining  space,  resting  his  weight  mainly  upon  the  sharp 
edge  board,  with  the  unpopular  end  of  his  person  projecting 
over  the  alley  space,  He  expressed  the  opinion  that  he  was 
not  going  to  have  a  comfortable  night.  The  edge  board  was 
too  sharp  ;  and  he  was  frequently  disturbed  by  people  passing 
through  the  alley,  and  bumping  against  that  part  of  his  body 
which  had  not  gone  to  bed.  Several  times  during  the  night  I 
was  awakened  out  of  a  sound  sleep  with  the  impression  that 
we  had  met  the  other  train,  and  were  stove  to  pieces.  But  it 
was  only  the  Governor's  lists  and  feet  fighting  for  more  room. 
He  seemed  to  have  the  idea  that  I  could  "lay  along,"  or  shrink 
up  into  half  the  dimensions  of  that  berth.     I  was  sorry  not 


6  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

to  accommodate  him,  but  really,  I  couldn't  knock  out  the  side 
of  the  car  without  discomfort  to  myself,  nor  kick  out  the  end 
partitions  without  discommoding  others  who  had  paid  for 
their  accommodations. 

We  are  passing  through  that  part  of  Canada  which  is  never 
interesting  to  me.  There  are  long  stretches  of  excellent  flat 
land,  and  many  finely  cultivated  fields,  but  the  indications  of 
home  life,  except  in  the  vicinity  of  the  villages,  are  not  at- 
tractive. Neglected,  dingy  looking  farm  houses,  with  dis- 
tant, lonesome  and  dilapidated  barns,  appear  on  farms  which, 
according  to  the  Vermont  standard,  should  have  a  snug,  well 
built  and  well  painted  set  of  buildings,  with  a  hundred  foot 
barn,  more  desirable  as  a  dwelling  than  the  average  Canada 
farm  house.  The  change  from  Vermont  to  Canada  is  readily 
noted  by  the  appearance  of  the  homes.  If  the  external  ap- 
pearances of  refinement  are  a  correct  indication  of  the  life 
within,  Vermont  civilization  is  far  enough  ahead  of  the  Can- 
ada standard  to  call  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee,  by 
the  Canadian  authorities,  to  investigate  the  cause  of  the  great 
difference.  It  is  possible  to  live  generation  after  generation 
without  making  advancement,  but  it  is  not  the  custom  in  the 
States.  "Progress"  is  our  watchword,  but  "Stand  still"  seems 
to  be  the  prevalent  notion  in  Canada.  They  want  a  Governor 
General  who  will  infuse  newT  life  and  new  ideas  into  Parlia- 
ment, and  secure  legislation  favoring  better  schools,  better 
farming  and  better  buildings ;  a  legislation  which  gives  a 
stronger  invitation  to  capital  to  invest  in  industry.  But  the 
surest  step  in  the  direction  of  progress  and  improvement,  in- 
crease of  population,  enterprise,  thrift,  wealth  and  refine- 
ment, is  for  Canada  to  rap  for  admission  to  the  United  States, 
enter  and  take  advantage  of  laws  already  made,  and  of  cus- 
toms already  established.  This  would  soon  cure  her  of  the 
neglect  of  past  generations. 

The  people  in  our  car  have  to-day  had  a  good  illustration 
of  motherly  patience.  At  Montreal  a  French  lady,  about 
twenty-five  years  old,  took  the  train  with  three  children,  aged 


IN  CANADA.  7 

about  one,  three  and  five  years.  They  are  pretty  children, 
but  not  all  the  time  lovely.  The  young  woman  took  one  sec- 
tion of  the  sleeper,  set  the  little  ones  on  the  seats,  with  a  pat 
under  the  chin  for  each  one,  then  opened  her  valise  and  took 
out  four  or  iive  dozen  cloths,  in  anticipations  of  the  trials  to 
come  on  the  journey  to  Chicago.  After  an  hour  of  restless 
motion,  and  a  dozen  or  so  changes  of  the  cloths,  the  little  ones 
were  snugly  tucked  up  in  their  little  bed,  but  the  mother,  as 
we  were  told  by  the  porter  the  next  morning,  was  on  her  feet 
much  of  the  time,  and  did  not  lay  herself  down  once  during 
the  night.  To-day  the  little  ones  have  been*  in  perpetual 
motion,  going  through  with  all  the  teasing,  whining,  laugh- 
ing, scolding,  fretting,  tumbling  off  seats,  etc.,  etc.,  and  the 
mother  has  also  been  a  piece  of  perpetual  motion,  attending  to 
their  wants,  keeping  them  in  tidy  condition,  feeding  them, 
changing  their  positions  and  clothing,  and  ministering  prompt- 
ly to  every  want.  Any  man  on  the  train — and  there  are  sev- 
eral tolerable  good  fathers  aboard,  including  the  subscriber — 
would  have  had  their  young  ones  boxed  up  and  shipped  to  the 
Cannibal  Islands  before  noon  to-day.  But  not  so  with 
that  mother.  It  is  now  nearly  dark,  and  not  the  first 
indication  of  tiring  out  or  of  impatience  has  that  moth- 
er exhibited.  Patience,  petting,  smiles,  and  prompt  wait- 
ing upon,  has  been  the  constant  treatment  they  have  re- 
ceived. One  man.  remarked,  "Wonderful,"  another,  "I 
couldn't  hold  out  like  that,"  another,  "I  don't  see  how  she 
does  it,"  etc.,  etc.  But  she  was  a  mother,  and  that  means  a 
mountain  of  love,  patience,  endurance,  suffering,  and  self 
sacrificing  for  the  offspring.  Fathers  love  much,  but  their 
patience  has  an  end,  and  is  frequently  crowded  to  the  extent 
of  swear  words.  One  of  the  passengers  in  the  car  was  so 
much  impressed  with  the  motherly  devotion  and  patience  that 
he  thought  of  Cyrus  W.  Field,  and  was  inclined  to  circulate 
a  paper  and  start  a  Garfield  fund  in  order  to  show  a  proper 


8  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

appreciation  of  that  kind  of  a  mother.  But  learning  that  she 
was  the  wife  of  a  forehanded  man,  the  demonstration  was 
given  up. 

T  was  not  a  little  mortified  to-day  by  the  peddler  boy  on 
the  train,  who  came  into  the  ear  and  said  he  would  take  that 
ten  cents  I  owed  him.  The  passengers  were  all  staring  at  me 
as  I  tried  to  explain  that  I  did  not  owe  him  anything,  and  that 
he  must  be  mistaken  in  the  man.  "No,  I  ain't/'  said  he,  ''you 
agreed  to  pay  for  that  cigar  as  soon  as  you  could  get  a  bill 
changed.  You've  had  three  or  four  hours,  and  that  is  time 
enough."  I  wanted  to  drop  into  a  hole  in  the  ground,  but 
the  windows  were  closed,  and  while  1  was  determining  whether 
to  pay  or  to  argue  him  out  of  his  mistake,  the  Governor  passed 
along  the  aisle,  wThen  the  peddler  begged  my  pardon  and  dunned 
the  Governor,  who  honored  the  bill.  It  is  unfortunate  to 
travel  in  company  with  a  man  who  resembles  you,  unless  that 
man  happens  to  be  a  prompt  paymaster. 

We  are  now  at  Port  Huron,  Mich.,  and  here  endeth  the 
first  lesson. 


IN  CHICAGO. 


Run  No.  2. 


CHICAGO  IN  1854— THE  GREAT  FIRE  OF  1871— SUBSEQUENT  ENERGY 
OF  THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  RESULT— LINCOLN  PARK  AND  OTHER 
ATTRACTIONS— LEADING  MEN  OF  1856— EASTMAN,  BEVERIDGE 
&  CHASE— THE  WATER  WORKS— CHICAGO  MORALS  OMITTED  IN 
THIS  LETTER— CITY  AND  COUNTRY  VIRTUE. 


Chicago,  October  9,  1881. 

My  tirst  visit  to  Chicago  was  in  1854,  when,  if  1  remem- 
ber right,  she  numbered  about  80,000  population.  The  city 
had  grown  up  in  haste,  without  the  direction  of  city  ordinan- 
ces looking  towards  its  future  greatness.  It  stood  on  the  low 
prairie  ground,  with  streets  paved  with  plank,  and  it  was  not 
necessary  to  have  moist  weather  in  order  to  witness  the  spectacle 
of  seeing  water  squirt  up  between  the  planks,  under  the  pres- 
sure of  passing  vehicles.  An  ordinance  had  about  that  time 
been  passed,  requiring  future  blocks  to  be  erected  on  a  grade 
two  or  three  feet  higher  than  the  original  prairie.  Many 
buildings  had  been  erected  on  this  grade,  and  ports  of  sever- 
al streets  had  been  graded  up  to  the  ordinance  standard.  The 
walks  were  mainly  of  wood,  and  the  difference  in  grade  kept 
the  pedestrian  traveling  continually  up  and  down  sidewalk 
stairs,  tearing  off  boot  soles  on  slivered  planks,  and  jumping 
mud  holes  at  the  crossings.  Most  of  the  buildings  were  of 
wood,  from  one  to  four  stories  high,  and  but  few  and  small 
sections  of  the  streets  had  the  appearance  of  solidity.  This 
was  twenty-seven  years  ago.  Chicago  continued  to  grow 
with  unexpected   haste,  every  year  surpassing  the  most  san- 


10  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

guine  expectations  of  its  friends,  and  as  it  increased  the  au- 
thorities, convinced  that  it  was  on  too  low  a  grade,  passed  an- 
other ordinance,  adding  two  or  three  feet  more,  and  requiring 
new  blocks  to  be  erected  on  the  new  grade.  This  added  a 
new  flight  of  stairs  to  the  sidewalks,  and  was  an  additional 
confusion  to  blind  pedestrians.  Only  sober  men  could  travel 
the  walks  with  safety,  and  as  sober  men  were  the  exceptions 
at  that  date,  there  was  much  rubbing  of  shins  and  much  pro- 
fanity among  the  population.  The  new  grade  of  the  streets 
brought  the  road  bed  up  to  nearly  a  level  with  the  window 
sills  in  the  original  buildings,  and  converted  the  first  stories 
into  semi-basements ;  The  poorer  clsss  of  buildings  began 
to  disappear,  and  give  place  to  substantial  blocks,  erected  on 
the  grade,  while  blocks  worth  saving  were  screwed  up  into 
position.  At  this  date  it  was  common  to  see  the  largest  blocks, 
and  in  some  streets  long  lines  of  five  and  six  story  buildings, 
moving  skywards  on  numberless  little  jackscrews.  But  the 
workmen  did  their  work  so  successfully  that  the  blocks  were 
uninjured,  and  business  in  them  continued  without  the  least  in- 
terruption. So  much  of  this  work  everywhere  gave  the  city 
a  singularly  ragged  appearance.  But  the  work  was  indispen- 
sible  for  the  protection  of  life  and  health.  Previous  to  the 
great  fire  Chicago  had  spent  money  enough  in  "changing  over" 
to  build  a  good  sized  city. 

The  great  fire  of  Chicago,  the  greatest  in  the  history  of 
this  country,  took  place  October  9,  1871 — just  ten  years  ago 
to-day — and,  as  destructive  as  that  fire  was,  it  was  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  and  more  prosperous  era  for  the  city.  The  cir- 
cumstances are  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  They 
all  know  that  at  9  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  October  8,  1871, 
Mrs.  O'Leary's  cow,  in  the  west  division,  kicked  over  her 
lantern,  and  that  by  noon  of  the  next  day  Mrs.  O'Leary's 
barn  was  in  ashes,  the  greater  part  of  Chicago  had  gone  up  in 
smoke,  and  100,000  persons  of  all  colors  and  condition  in  life 
were  without  shelter,  huddled  together  in  Lincoln  Park,  on 
the  lake  shore,  and  around  the  outskirts  of  the  ashes.     We 


IN  CHICAGO.  11 


give  below  some  of  the  results  of  this  frisky  old  cow's  antics  : 


Total  area  burned,  acres,  -  -  2,124 
Buildings  destroyed,  -  -  -  17,450 
Persons  rendered  homeless,     -  98,860 

Persons  burned  to  death,     -  300 

Miles  of  street  frontage  burned  over,  73 
Total  loss,        -  $196,000,000 


Value  of  buildings,  -  -  $53,000,000 
Value  of  personal  property,  58,710,000 
Total  insurance,  -        -        88,634,122 

Insurance  recovered,  -  -  45,000.000 
Contributions  for  relief  from 

other  cities  and  abroad,    -        4,996,000 


These  are  wholesale  figures,  and  they  immortalize  the  butter 
source  of  Mother  O'Leary.  There  were  various  predictions 
for  Chicago  at  that  date,  but  most  of  them  were  that  Chicago 
would  be  speedily  rebuilt.  The  world  has  never  seen  any- 
thing in  the  history  of  building  enterprises  to  equal  the  rapid 
and  solid  growth  of  Chicago  since  that  date.  The  city  had 
the  position  of  key  to  western  trade.  That  trade  was  already 
immense,  and  great  as  it  was  its  development  had  scarcely 
commenced.  Great  arteries  of  communication  were  stretch- 
ing from  the  burned  district  far  out  into  all  sections  of  the 
north-western  country.  It  all  centered  in  this  tract  of  ashes. 
The  unsheltered  masses  in  Lincoln  Park  and  on  the  lake  shore 
saw  it,  and  eastern  capitalists  saw  it.  Western  enterprise  and 
eastern  capital  looked  through  the  same  spectacles,  saw  the 
same  possibilities,  combined  their  forces,  and  commenced  the 
march  of  progress.  The  result  is  the  Chicago  of  to-day,  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  cities  of  the  American  continent,  the 
most  elaborate  in  architectural  beauty,  and  the  fourth  in 
population.  All  this  in  ten  years  of  time.  Mark  the  prog- 
ress. The  smoke  had  not  cleared  up  ere  the  work  of  remov- 
ing the  debris  commenced.  The  city  organization  had  not 
burned  up.  Men  were  left.  The  experience  of  the  past  had 
taught  them  the  needs  of  the  locality.  An  ordinance  was 
passed  adding  another  grade  to  the  streets,  making  it  eight  feet 
above  the  original  prairie.  On  this  grade  the  new  city  start- 
ed out  on  its  building  enterprise  and  career  of  prosperity,  and 
the  following  is  the  record  of  money  invested  in  buildings  for 
the  past  ten  years  : 

Year.  Cost. 

1872, $49,133,600 

1873,     -  -  -  --  -  -  -  -  -  25,500,000 

1874, •  -  -  -  -     5.785,441 

1875.      ----------         9,778.080 


IS  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

1876,  .----------  $8,270,600 

1877,  ---.-----.  7,552,649 

1878,  -..-.--__.  7,419,100 

1879,  --  --     -     --     -     --  6,605,200 

1880,  ----------  9,171,850 

1881,  ----------  11,500,000 


$140,716,520 

During  this  time  the  city  has  nearly  doubled  in  population, 
having  reached  the  figures  550,000.  In  1871  it  boasted  of 
nine  lines  of  railroads  receiving  tribute  from  8,098  miles  of 
territory.  To-day  she  has  fifteen  distinct  railroads,  operating 
an  aggregate  of  2G,771  miles.  In  1871  her  railroads  carried 
9,118,287  passengers  and  9,118,287  tons  of  freight,  and  in 
1881  they  carried  28,848,488  passengers  and  5>5, 76*7, 634  tons 
of  freight.  These  figures  will  furnish  a  key  to  the  compara- 
tive magnitude  of  business  in  all  branches  of  trade  in  the 
growing  city. 

We  make  a  brief  stop  here,  but  have  improved  every  min- 
ute of  the  time,  have  taken  a  run  through  several  of  the  mam- 
moth hotels  and  stores,  been  to  Lincoln  Park,  three  miles 
north  of  the  post-office,  and  down  to  the  Douglas  monument, 
about  three  miles  below,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan.  At 
the  time  of  my  first  visit  to  Chicago,  in  1854,  both  of  these 
points  were  far  out  in  the  country.  Now,  the  streets  and  large 
blocks  of  buildings  extend  far  beyond  them.  Both  are  filled 
with  visitors  on  every  pleasant  day.  Lincoln  Park  was  start- 
ed about  fifteen  years  ago,  contains  350  acres  of  land  on  the 
lake  shore,  most  tastefully  laid  out  with  wide,  winding  walks, 
beautified  with  trees,  shrubs,  flowers,  clean  cut  lawns,  pond, 
rustic  nooks  and  bowers,  everything,  in  fact,  which  makes 
ground  attractive.  The  pond  is  one  continuous  sheet  of  wa- 
ter, but  so  irregular  in  shape  that  one  never   knows  where  is 

the  beginning  or  the  end.     On  its  surface  are  numerous  boats, 

00  7 

and  ducks  ;  geese  and  swan  are  a  great  attraction  to  the  peo- 
ple, from  whom  they  tease  out  a  good  living  in  the  way  of 
pop  corn,  peanuts,  ginger-bread,  etc.  The  city  has  also  pro- 
vided a  very  respectable  lot  of  wild  beasts,  birds  and  alliga- 


IN  CHICAGO.  13 

tors  for  the  entertainment  of  visitors.  In  the  bear  caves  are 
a  dozen  of  the  handsomest  bears  I  ever  saw.  One  grizzly 
weighs  about  1,000  pounds,  and  two  of  the  black  bears  about 
600  each.  There  is  also  an  extensive  conservatory,  with 
choice  plants,  flowers  and  trees  from  all  climes. N 

From  1856  to  1863,  living  but  sixty  miles  distant,  I  was  in 
the  city  often.  In  those  days  the  leading  lawyers  who  prac- 
ticed at  the  bar  were  O.  H.  Browning,  since  United  States 
Senator,  Abe  Lincoln,  J.  H.  Farns worth,  a  dozen  years  in 
Congress,  I.  N.  Arnold,  since  in  Congress,  Corydon  Beck- 
with,  formerly  of  Sutton,  Vt.,  Sam.  Fuller,  who  studied 
with  Thomas  Bartlett,  at  Lyndon,  Vt.,  Dick  Merrick,  now  of 
Washington,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  who  also  had  an  occasional 
case  in  the  Courts,  and  others.  Most  of  them  are  gone,  and 
the  reputation  of  the  profession  is  in  other  hands.  But  the 
old  liners  were  lions  in  their  day  and  generation.  Just  after 
being  admitted  to  the  bar,  I  sat  as  a  juryman  on  several 
cases  in  which  Browning  and  Lincoln  were  enera^ed.  Brown- 
ing  was  a  plain,  earnest,  solid  man,  dealing  out  logic  which 
nothing  short  of  Uncle  Abe's  good  humor,  apt  stories  and 
mother  wit  could  upset.  But  Lincoln  often  won  a  doubtful 
case  with  those  self-same  forces,  and  surprised  men  of  argu- 
ment, who  never  see  any  sense  or  force  in  a  joke. 

There  was  one  law  firm  in  the  city  at  that  time  which  de- 
serves mention  in  this  letter.  It  was  the  firm  of  * 'Eastman, 
Beveridge  &  Chase,"  which  took  the  library  and  succeeded 
to  the  business  of  Hon.  John  L.  Farnsworth,  then  member 
elect  to  Congress.  The  firm  was  organized  in  1859,  did  a 
most  successful  business  for  a  year  or  more,  when  the  head 
of  the  firm  died  and  was  buried  up  in  the  ground.  The  tail, 
though  often  assured,  by  older  members  of  the  bar,  that  his 
prospect  for  eminence  in  the  profession  was  second  to  that  of 
no  young  attorney  in  the  city,  got  the  blues,  returned  to  Ver- 
mont, and  carries  on  the  old  home  farm  in  Lyndon.  Bever- 
idge responded  to  the  call  of  his  country,  served  through  the 
Avar  as  Colonel  of  the   8th  Illinois   cavalry,  was   afterwards 


14  THE  EDITOR'S  R  UN. 

elected  Sheriff  of  Cook  county,  probably  the  most  lucrative 
office  in  the  State,  and  after  that  served  the  State  as  its  Gov- 
ernor. After  retiring  from  the  gubernatorial  chair  he  re- 
turned to  Chicago,  but  not  to  the  law.  He  had  money  enough 
to  start  a  bank,  and  is  now  doing  a  prosperous  banking  busi- 
ness under  the  firm  name  of  Beveridge  &  Dewey,  on  Ran- 
dolph street.  After  a  separation  of  twenty  years,  the  Gov- 
ernor— we  mean  the  agricultural  tail  of  the  old  law  firm — 
called  on  the  ex-Governor  of  Illinois,  and  took  me  along  to 
identify  him.  Fortunately  we  found  Beveridge  at  his  private 
room  in  the  bank,  the  same  old  sixpence  of  twenty  years  ago, 
though  time  and  care  had  given  him  snow  white  hair  and 
whiskers,  and  made  the  usual  year  marks  in  his  countenance. 
But  the  same  gait,  the  same  motions,  the  same  voice,  the  same 
cordial  welcome,  manner,  etc,  were  there  as  of  old.  After 
a  pleasant  hour,  recalling  the  scenes  and  persons  of  twenty 
years  ago,  we  left  him,  promising  to  call  again  and  stay  long- 
er on  our  return  homewards. 

I  should  not  do  justice  to  St.  Johnsbury  subscribers  by 
omitting  to  mention  our  visit  to  the  Chicago  water  works. 
By  placing  this  institution  ahead  of  the  Flanders  pump,  which 
cost  St.  Johnsbury  $75,000,  I  intend  no  injury  to  St.  Johns- 
bury  vanity.  Let  the  people  of  that  pleasant  hamlet  keep 
right  along  feeling  big,  just  as  if  nothing  had  been  said. 

The  water  system  of  Chicago  cost  $40,000,000.  The  wa- 
ter comes  from  two  miles  out  in  Lake  Michigan,  through  two 
brick  tunnels,  built  in  1863  and  1869.  The  size  of  these  tun- 
nels are  five  and  seven  feet,  respectively.  On  the  lake  shore 
is  an  immense  granite  building,  with  many  towers,  a  very  im- 
posing-looking structure  indeed.  In  this  building  are  four 
monster  engines,  half  of  them  being  in  constant  service. 
They  are  1,200,  700,  500  and  350  horse  power  respectively. 
The  largest  has  a  cylinder  70  inches  in  diameter,  gives  a  ten 
foot  stroke,  makes  ten  revolutions  a  minute,  and  pumps  2,750 
gallons  of  water  at  every  stroke.  That's  business.  The 
drive  wheel  is  twenty-seven  feet  in  diameter.     The  machinery 


JZV  CHICAGO.  15 

is  driven  by  five  boilers,  12x22  feet,  which  consume  38  tons 
of  hard  coal  a  day.  Twenty -four  men  are  constantly  em- 
ployed in  the  building.  The  water  is  pumped  into  a  main 
pipe  36  inches  in  diameter,  and  keeps  a  strong  pressure  on 
520  miles  of  main  and  branch  pipes.  We  have  not  had  time 
to  count  the  number  of  faucets  in  the  city,  but  there  are  sev- 
eral of  them. 

I  have  no  time  to  speak  of  Chicago's  morals,  and  the  less 
time  for  that  the  better  for  Chicago.  Of  course  there  are 
morals  here,  but  they  are  not  visible  to  the  naked  eye. 
Twenty  years  ago  it  would  not  have  been  safe  for  the  mana- 
gers to  run  theatres  on  Sunday.  To-day  it  is  not  considered 
profitable  by  some  managers  not  to  run  them.  The  largest 
parties,  picnics  and  excursions  come  on  Sunday.  Folks 
can't  stop  to  go  on  week  days.  Many  of  the  religious  socie- 
ties select  Sundays  to  give  their  Sabbath  schools  satisfactory 
recreation.  Trains  run  as  usual,  the  street  cars  are  full  of 
people,  the  lager  beer  saloons  hire  in  extra  help,  the  Germans 
cry  cheap  clothing  in  full  voice,  and  gaiety  prevails.  It  isn't 
right  according  to  our  Vermont  standard,  but  they  will  do  it, 
and  I  see  no  way  to  stop  it.  I  have  spoken  to  several  about 
it,  but  it  won't  do  any  good.  The  custom  has  got  on  too 
much  momentum  to  be  checked  during  the  brief  time  I  am  to 
remain  here. 

You  will  doubtless  observe,  dear  reader,  when  you  reach 
heaven,  that  rural  localities  and  country  villages  have  a  fuller 
representation  there  than  have  the  cities.  In  country  places, 
it  seems  to  be  sort  of  popular  to  be  good,  and  people,  gifted  in 
the  ways  of  iniquity  are  forced,  by  public  sentiment  to  be  shy, 
and  to  use  more  or  less  of  the  livery  of  heaven  to  work  in. 
The  church  element  makes  a  public  sentiment  which  prevails, 
and  which  compels  every  one  to  respect  the  Sabbath,  and  to 
be  generally  well  behaved.  But  it  is  different  in  large  cities, 
and  especially  in  Chicago.  The  momentum  of  immorality 
takes  on  head  in  populated  centers.  Iniquity  becomes  bold, 
defiant,  don't-care-a-darn,  and  erects  a  public  sentiment  of  its 


10  THE  EDITOR'S  R  UN. 

own,  which,  with  business  wires,  political  wires,  saloon  wires, 
etc.,  it  can  sustain.  It  is  a  bold,  open-handed  power,  in- 
sisting upon  social  and  political  position,  demanding  at  least 
half  of  the  offices,  and  frequently  getting  all  of  them.  In  the 
cities,  vice  seems  to  be  smarter,  more  vigilant,  more  indus- 
trious than  virtue.  It  drives  more  fast  horses,  runs  more 
saloons,  more  theatres,  holds  more  offices,  makes  more  noise, 
and,  to  all  appearances,  does  more  business  than  virtue.  If 
you  would  be  happy  and  virtuous,  reader,  remain  in  the  coun- 
try and  run  the  farm,  stock  up  the  village  store,  open  a  vil- 
lage hotel,  start  a  village  law-office,  peddle  pills,  or  keep 
school. 


IN  KANSAS  CITY.  17 


Run  No.  3. 


C.  R.  I.  &  P.  R.— THE  GREAT  WHALE— DAVENPORT  AND  THE  RICHARD- 
SON BROTHERS— WESTERN  IOWA— FARMING-CHANGE  FROM  IOWA 
TO  MISSOURI— WHAT  YANKEES  WOULD  DO  WITH  MISSOURI. 


Kansas  City,  Mo.,  October  10,  1881. 

We  left  Chicago  at  9  :30  Sunday  evening,  and  when  I  rolled 
out  of  the  berth  at  6  :30  next  morning  I  unrolled  myself  in 
Davenport,  Iowa,  183  miles  from  the  great  city.  We  came 
by  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  road,  one  of  the 
great  trunk  lines  to  Kansas  City  and  Omaha,  thence  on  to  the 
western  coast,  and  a  particularly  disagreeable  line  to  the  Chi- 
cago, Burlington  and  Quincy,  which  would  be  pleased  to  add 
to  its  present  immense  business  everything  now  done  by  the 
C,  R.  I.  &  P.  R.  They  are  rivals,  and  on  most  points  of  dif- 
ference are  swearing  mad.  This  makes  it  interesting  to  the 
traveling  public,  who  get  more  than  their  money's  worth  when 
they  patronize  either  line. 

George  H.  Newton,  of  Monson,  Mass.,  was  on  the  train 
from  Chicago  to  Davenport,  and  inasmuch  as  you  do  not  know 
George,  dear  reader,  I  will  give  you  a  brief  sketch,  as  he  gave 
it  to  me.  George  is  an  insurance  agent,  but,  not  accumulating 
scrip  as  fast  as  he  wanted  to,  he  conceived  the  idea  a  year  ago 
last  winter  of  catching  a  whale,  and  outdoing  Barnum  in  the 
show  business.  But  how  to  do  it  was  a  conundrum.  He 
consulted  sea  captains  at  various  ports,  but  got  the  uniform 
answer,  "Impossible."  They  could  not  see  how  a  great  whale 
could  be  caught  several  hundred  miles  out  in  the  sea,  towed 


18  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

to  shore,  raised  out  of  the  water,  and  placed  upon  cars  for 
transportation.  But  George  had  got  crazy  on  the  subject, 
and  wouldn't  let  up.  After  spending  several  hundred  dollars 
in  running:  about  and  o^ttin^  refused,  heat  last,  by  giving 
bonds  to  indemnify  against  loss,  found  a  captain  willing  to 
undertake  the  job  for  a  good  consideration.  The  result  was 
that  last  November  the  monster  was  towed  into  Province- 
town,  thence  to  Boston,  where  Newton  hired  four  derricks 
and  a  gang  of  men,  and,  after  days  of  uproar  and  confusion, 
got  the  leviathan  out  of  the  sea  upon  two  large  flat  cars,  where 
he  was  frozen  up,  when  George  started  with  his  pickerel  for 
the  Chicago  Exposition.  But  his  calculations  were  hardly 
sufficient  for  the  immense  weight.     The  car  wheels  burned  off 


NEWTON'S  WHALE. 

and  broke  down,  and  other  calculations  were  short  of  meeting 
the  emergency.  It  was  a  whaling  big  fish — bigger/  than 
George  had  any  idea  of.  But  his  courage  was  equal  to  the 
task.  He  got  more  wheels  made,  had  a  car  constructed  for 
the  purpose,  and  at  last  that  old  sucker,  as  large  and  as  nat- 
ural as  life,  was  on  show  at  the  Chicago  Exhibition.  At  that 
time  the  perch  had  cost  Newton  $12,000,  and  he  hadn't  much 
more  money  to  spend.  As  a  financial  venture  it  was  sink  or 
swim.  But  the  leviathan  drew  a  crowd.  Everybody  wanted 
to  see  a  whale  for  a  quarter  of  a  dollar.  From  that  day  to 
this,  except  when  the  old  pumpkin  seed  was  hauled  up  for 
repairs,  such  as  punching  arsenic  into  him  to  keep  his  blubber 
from  spoiling,  Newton  has  been  making  change  as  fast  as  he 
could  do  it  in  all  the  large  cities  visited,  never  stopping  at  a 
town  of  less  than  20,000  people.     He  has  taken  as  high  as 


IN  KANSAS  CITY.  19 

$1,500  in  a  single  day.  Well,  his  net  profit  from  that  enter- 
prise since  last  November  has  been  over  $40,000.  Now, 
reader,  if  yon  are  impatient,  and  can't  wait  for  wealth  as  a 
result  of  industry  and  moderate  accumulations,  go  down  to 
the  sea,  catch  a  whale  and  start  with  him.  "There's  millions 
in  it,"  and  no  mistake.  Newton's  shiner  is  60  feet  long,  and 
weighs  80,000  pounds — forty  tons — or  Newton  lies. 

Davenport  is  a  city  on  the  Mississippi  river,  contains  25,000 
inhabitants  and  is  noted  principally  as  being  the  location 
where  the  Democrat  is  published  by  the  Richardson  brothers, 
formerly  of  Topsham,  Vt.  They  came  here  many  years  ago, 
and,  with  a  combination  of  industry,  business  tact  and  talent, 
have  made  one  of  the  liveliest,  most  reliable  and  influential  pa- 
pers west  of  Chicago.  This  is  the  work  of  live  Democrats, 
in  one  of  the  strongest  Republican  States  in  the  Union.  The 
same  energy,  tact  and  talent  in  a  Democratic  locality  would 
have  completely  distanced  all  rivalry.  Davenport  is  the  sec- 
ond city  in  size  in  the  State,  and  a  center  of  railroads  reach- 
ing into  all  the  distant  parts  of  the  West.  The  depot  stands 
on  historic  ground,  it  being  the  identical  spot  where  in  1836 
Gen.  Scott  met  the  Indians,  and  signed  the  noted  treaty  for  the 
Black  Hawk  possessions. 

We  took  the  Kansas  line  of  the  C.  and  R.  I.  and  P.  R.,  run- 
ning through  Muscatine,  twenty-nine  miles  from  Davenport, 
where  the  road  leads  southwest,  through  various  small  stations 
to  Fairfield,  county  seat  of  Jefierson  county,  and  ninety-six 
miles  from  Davenport.  The  distance  to  this  point  is  through 
one  of  the  finest  sections  of  the  State,  principally  of  undula- 
ting prairie,  though  occasionally  it  passes  over  eight  or  ten 
miles  of  perfectly  flat  land,  with  no  drainage  except  down 
through  the  land,  and  in  wet  seasons  this  is  no  drainage  at  all. 
Eastern  people  would  think  that  a  community  could  not  exist 
with  no  chance  at  all  for  drainage,  and  on  a  soil  so  heavy  that 
water  makes  slow  progress  through  it.  But  nature  has  pro- 
vided for  the  emergency.  When  the  atmosphere  gets  too 
thick  and  heavy  with  the  rising  miasma,  the  wind  comes,  clears 


20  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

it  all  away,  and,  sometimes,  takes  the  houses,  vegetation  and 
a  good  per  cent,  of  the  population  along  with  it.  But  it  clears 
up  the  atmosphere,  makes  it  healthy,  and  frequently  does  the 
work  so  well  that  it  makes  room  for  a  new  crop  of  emigrants 
to  pitch  and  start  anew. 

Southwest  from  Libertyville  the  country  is  best  adapted  to 
grazing,  though,  of  course,  farmers  run  the  general  farming 
business.  Dwellings  have  a  sort  of  temporary  appearance. 
Barns  are  rare  and  poor.  Hay  is  stacked  in  the  field,  grain 
threshed  there,  and  corn  stalks  left  standing  to  encounter  the 
next  season's  plow.  Corn  is  the  principal  crop.  Hogs  run 
loose  and  get  themselves  ready  for  market.  All  of  the  origi- 
nal fences  are  made  of  rails,  but  most  of  the  new  fences  are 
post  and  wire,  barbed  or  smooth.  Have  seen  farms  fenced 
with  four  wires,  some  with  live,  and  those  who  have  an 
eye  on  hogs  put  in  the  sixth,  or  a  bottom  board  and  five 
wires.  Land  fenced  and  plowed,  three  or  four  miles  from  the 
railroad,  can  be  bought  for  about  $1 5  per  acre,  which  is  equiva- 
lent to  about  $10  for  the  raw  prairie.  Fencing  co'sts  at  the 
rate  of  $2.50  an  acre. 

At  Lineville,  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  miles  from 
Davenport,  we  crossed  over  into  Missouri,  and,  without  any 
change  in  the  appearance  of  the  country,  I  noted  a  difference 
in  the  style  of  the  population  and  the  price  of  land,  which  is,  for 
same  quality,  at  least  33  1-3  per  cent  cheaper  than  in  Iowa. 
Within  two  or  three  miles  of  the  railroad  $10  will  buy  plowed 
land,  well  fenced.  If  an  industrious,  energetic  farmer  can- 
not invest  money  at  that  rate,  work  land  naturally  very  pro- 
ductive, and  make  money  out  of  it,  the  verdict  would  be  "he 
ain't  smart." 

On  crossing  the  State  line  I  soon  noticed  in  the  population 
a  tincture  of  the  "Puke"  element.  A  genuine  Missouri  Puke 
will  rival  the  ))ack\voods  Yankee  in  point  of  verdancy,  but 
he  never  could  outwit  him  in  a  clock  or  a  jacknife  trade. 
For  self  reliance,  mother  wit  and  handiness  in  getting  out  of  a 
tight  place,  "Yankee"  still  maintains  the  front  rank.     I  would 


IN  KANSAS  CITY.  21 

like  to  see  the  effect  of  changing  places  between  the  popula- 
tion of  the  two  States.  Give  Missouri  to  the  Yankees  and 
Vermont  to  the  Pukes,  and  what  would  be  the  condition  of 
the  two  peoples  and  two  States  in  ten  years  ?  Vermont  would 
drop  out  of  the  map  and  the  Pukes  would  be  known  only  in  his- 
tory. Missouri  would  be  the  Eden  of  the  country,  and  every 
Yankee  would  be  a  rich  man  and  an  aspirant  for  the  presidency. 
Douglas  said,  "Vermont  is  a  good  country  to  emigrate  from." 
That  was  a  high  compliment  to  Vermonters.  It  meant  that  a 
State  whose  natural  resources  compel  industry,  calculation  and 
economy,  makes  strong  characters — able  men  and  women, 
who  easily  take  the  lead  when  they  emigrate  to  States  where 
nature  has  been  more  lavish. 

We  reached  Kansas  City  at  10  o'clock  this  evening,  having 
made  the  distance  of  five  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from 
Chicago  in  twelve  hours  and  a  half.  The  road  bed  is  first-class , 
the  cars  comfortable  and  the  train  men  courteous  and  obliging. 
The  Rock  Island  road  is  first-class  in  all  its  appointments.  It 
ought  to  be.  It  is  now  operating  one  thousand  three  hundred 
and  fifty  two  miles  of  road,  thoroughly  equipped  with  every- 
thing necessary  for  doing  an  immense  passenger  and  freight 
business.  It  has  twenty-six  appointed  officers,  with  Hugh 
Riddle,  of  Chicago,  president,  A.  Kimball,  of  Davenport,  Su- 
perintendent, E.  St.  John,  Chicago,  general  ticket  and  passen- 
ger agent,  etc.  This  is  the  line  over  which  A.  C.  Harvey,  of 
St.  Johnsbury,  sends  his  excursions  to  Kansas  and  Nebraska. 
He  could  not  have  selected  a  safer  line  or  one  more  comforta- 
ble for  his  passengers. 


THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


Run  No.  4. 


THE  QUANTRELL  MASSACRE— DR.  KELLOGG'S  EXPERIENCE— HOW 
GRIFFITH  "CLOSED  OUT  AT  LESS  THAN  COST"— SUBSEQUENT 
GROWTH  OF  LAWRENCE— STATE  UNIVERSITY— PROF.  J.  W.  GLEED 
—PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  OTHER  INSTITUTIONS— HON.  ED.  RUS- 
SELL—PROSPECTS OF  LAWRENCE: 


Lawrence,  Kansas,  October  11,  1881. 

I  never  visit  Lawrence  without  thinking  of  Quantrell.  The 
first  time  I  stepped -into  the  place  was  August,  21,  1863,  about 
9  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Quantrell  and  his  three  hundred 
hell  hounds  had  just  left  the  place,  after  a  tarry  of  three  hours. 
Jim  Lane  had  just  emerged  from  his  hiding  place  in  the  cornfield 
to  telegraph  to  the  world  that  Lawrence  had  been  sacked,  her 
people  murdered,  and  that  Jim  Lane  was  in  hot  pursuit.  Jim 
was  a  courageous  man  when  the  danger  had  passed,  and  he 
came  out  of  his  concealment  to  claim  credit  before  the  world 
far  heading  the  pursuing  column.  The  fact  was,  the  pursuing 
column  had  a  good  start  when  Lane  appeared,  and  while  he 
was  telegraphing  for  notoriety  the  column  was  hard  after  the 
murderers. 

In  company  with  Adjutant  General  Ed  Russell,  of  Leaven- 
worth, I  had  made  a  trip  from  Kansas  City  to  Fort  Scott, 
thence  west  to  Humbolt,  thence  north  to  Lawrence,  he  mus- 
tering out  and  paying  off  home  guards  at  different  points 
along  the  route,  and  I  seeing  what  I  could  see,  and  gathering 
for  publication  the  history  of  the  struggles  and  trials  of  Kan- 
sas people  and  localities  from  1856  to  that  date.     It  was  a 


IN  LA  WHENCE,  KANSAS.  23 

bloody  history,  and  the  very  morning  of  our  arrival  at  Law- 
rence the  bloodiest  scene  in  the  drama  was  enacted.  Massa- 
chusetts street  was  in  ashes,  a  large  number  of  the  best  dwell- 
ings had  gone  up  in  smoke  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  of  the 
people  of  Lawrence,  including  many  of  the  most  prominent 
civilians  in  the  State,  lay  dead  in  the  streets.  It  was  a  fear- 
ful sight.  It  was  murder,  not  war.  Quantrell,  who  had 
lived  and  was  well  known  in  Lawrence,  had  organized  a  band 
of  murderers,  bushwackers,  as  they  were  called,  and,  though 
pretending  to  operate  on  the  side  of  the  confederacy,  was  re- 
ally in  pursuit  of  venture  and  booty.  When  here  in  1874,  I 
wrote  up  a  description  of  this  horror,  and,  as  many  readers  of 
the  Union  remember  it,  I  will  not  repeat  it.  For  further  par- 
ticulars I  refer  the  reader  to  the  history  of  Kansas.  Of 
course  the  numerous  instances  and  experiences  among  the 
people  of  that  morning  have  never  appeared  in  print,  but  one 
can  easily  till  a  volume  by  conversation  with  men  now  here 
who  passed  through  those  scenes  alive.  One  or  two  I  will 
mention.  I  met  Dr.  Kellogg,  a  dentist,  the  morning  of  my 
arrival  in  1861,  and,  as  we  passed  by  the  different  dead  bod- 
ies in  the  streets,  he  remarked,  "I  never  breathed  freer  or  felt 
more  thankful  than  I  do  to-day."  It  was  a  strange  remark , 
made  in  the  presence  of  the  murdered  bodies  of  so  many 
friends  and  acquaintances.  On  asking  what  he  meant  he  re- 
plied, "Well,  I  heard  the  firing  and  the  general  confusion  this 
morning,  got  up  and  rushed  out  to  see  what  it  meant.  Two 
men  seized  me,  and,  with  cocked  revolvers,  marched  me 
around  as  a  guide  to  point  out  places  where  values  were  kept. 
I  led  them  to  several  safes,  burned  several  houses  at  their  or- 
der, etc.  While  they  had  me,  I  saw  several  others  led  about 
in  a  similar  way,  and  shot  down  as  soon  as  they  were  released. 
I  expected  the  same  treatment,  but  intended  to  earn  their  good 
will  by  a  prompt  obedience  of  every  order.  When  they  had 
done  with  me,  instead  of  the  bullet  I  got  the  boot,  with  an 
invitation  to  'Go  to  H 1 !'  After  I  got  around  the  cor- 
ner, I  made  for  the  ravine  in  considerable  haste,  and  remained 


•24  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

hid  until  they  had  left.  What  makes  me  happy  is  the  one 
thought  that  I  am  alive."  Under  the  circumstances  that  was 
cause  enough. 

To-day  I  met  G.  A.  E.  Griffith,  a  prominent  banker,  who 
gave  me  his  experience.  He  had  just  located  in  Lawrence, 
had  a  hardware  store,  a  house  well  furnished,  horse  and  bug- 
gy, and  $8,000  in  money  and  goods.  The  bushwhackers  pick- 
ed him  up  on  the  street, and  ordered  him  to  lead  them  to  his  store. 
He  obeyed,  opened  his  safe,  handed  out  the  contents,  and  then, 
at  their  bidding,  commenced  to  pass  out  jack  knives  and  oth- 
er goods  wanted.  He  did  not  set  any  price  on  them.  It  was 
a  sort  of  closing  out  sale  at  "less  than  cost."  His  store  was 
already  burning.  He  conversed  with  them  pleasantly  upon 
the  situation  of  affairs,  but,  though  he  heard  the  firing  and 
saw  the  general  murdering  all  around  him,  it  hardly  seemed 
to  him  that  he  was  in  imminent  danger  of  his  life,  though  he 
was.  When  the  bushwackers  left  town  he  w^as  without  shel- 
ter or  property.  Everything  he  had  was  in  ashes,  except  his 
horse,  which  they  rode  away.  Griffith  was  left  financially  in 
the  condition  he  was  born  into  the  world,  but  with  experience 
which  enabled  him  to  start  again  in  good  shape.  He  has  re- 
covered, and  is  now  among  the  financially  successful  men  of 
the  State.  Lawrence  has  also  recovered,  and  is  larger  than 
she  was  before  the  raid.  Her  population  is  8,500,  and  con- 
tains a  larger  sprinkling  of  New  England  people  than  any 
other  town  of  equal  population  in  the  State. 

The  most  prominent  institution  is  the  State  University, 
built  in  1869  and  1870,  Lawrence  contributing  $100,000  and 
the  State  $25,000  and  a  promise  to  run  the  institution  at  State 
expense.  It  is  a  magnificent  building,  located  a  mile  from 
the  post-office,  on  the  highest  point  of  land  in  town,  and  com- 
mands one  of  the  most  charming  views  to  be  found  in  the 
State.  The  curriculum  of  the  institution  contains  a  seven 
years  course,  including  a  preparatory  and  a  full  college  course. 
The  tuition  is  free  to  every  one.  The  faculty  numbers  seven 
professors,    among  them  Prof.   Snow,  whose  services  com- 


IN  LAWRENCE,  KANSAS.  25 

menced  with  the  beginning  of  the  institution.  Prof.  Snow 
conducted  me  over  the  building  in  1874,  and  performed  that 
service  again  for  us  to-day.  We  met  here  also,  in  his  recita- 
tion room,  Prof.  J.  W.  Gleed,  formerly  of  Morrisville,  Vt., 
who  has  recently  returned  from  the  Green  Mountain  State, 
where  he  has  delivered  some  interesting  lectures  on  New 
Mexico.  Wells  River  readers  will  remember  an  interesting 
lecture  he  delivered  there  a  month  or  two  ago.  The  Univer- 
sity numbers  about  400  students,  nearly  one-half  of  them  re- 
siding in  Lawrence  and  vicinity. 

The  little  city  is  most  fortunate  in  her  educational  facili- 
ties. In  addition  to  the  University,  she  has  three  or  four 
graded  schools  in  different  localities.  Such  buildings  include 
a  primary,  intermediate  and  grammar  school.  She  also  has  a 
central  building  containing  a  high  school  for  all.  No  pains  or 
expense  are  spared  to  give  the  rising  generation  the  advan- 
tages of  a  general  and  thorough  education.  Upon  that  she 
stakes  her  future  growth  and  prosperity.  And  this  can  be 
said  of  almost  every  enterprising  Kansas  town.  The  first 
thought  in  starting  a  town  is  the  school  house  and  an  abund- 
ant support.  I  do  not  know  of  a  growing  town  in  Kansas 
where  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  best  schools  is  necessary. 
Old  drones  in  the  breechen  of  progress  have  never  emigrated 
to  Kansas. 

The  city  also  has  an  institution  for  imbecile  children,  a  fire 
department  with  one  steam  fire  engine,  a  good  water  privil- 
ege, which  drives  three  flouring  mills,  a  foundry,  a  wire  fence 
factory,  and  a  box  shop ;  and  a  paper  mill  is  in  prospect. 
Horse  cars  were  in  existence  two  or  three  years,  but  disap- 
peared in  1875  as  a  non-paying  investment. 

We  were  driven  over  the  city  to-day  by  Hon.  Ed.  Russell, 
who  for  twenty-five  years  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  Kansas  interests,  and  is  as  well  acquainted  with  her 
men,  her  resources,  and  her  prospects,  as  any  man  in  the 
State.  He  was  here  before  the  war,  has  represented  Leaven- 
worth or  Lawrence  in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature,  has 


26  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

been  Adjutant  General  of  the  State,  State  Commissioner  of 
Insurance,  etc.  Mr.  Russell  was  for  a  long  time  partner  of 
Gov.  Tom.  Osburn,  now  Minister  to  Brazil,  and  is  at  the  pres- 
ent time  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Griffith  &  Russell,  a  loan  and 
trust  company  doing  an  extensive  business  in  placing  eastern 
capital  on  western  mortgages.  None  of  the  Kansas  pull-backs 
ever  discouraged  Mr.  Russell.  He  predicts  a  great  future 
for  her,  and,  if  all  her  citizens  had  his  pluck,  penetration,  push 
and  integrity,  I  would  stake  a  small  farm,  well  stocked,  that 
she  would  in  time  surpass  all  rivals.  Pluck  and  push  are 
characteristics  of  the  Kansan,  but  in  penetration  and  integri- 
ty the  average  inhabitant  is  not  up  to  Mr.  Russell's  standard. 
Lawrence  has  made  a  history,  probably  more  than  she  will 
make  in  the  future.  She  was  the  center  of  the  free  State 
spirit  in  1856,  passed  through  many  successful  struggles  till 
1863,  when  she  suffered  martj'rdom,  but  has  recovered  her 
former  greatness  and  is  now  at  a  standstill,  with  no  special 
encouragement  for  her  future.  To  a  casual  observer  her  pub- 
lic improvements  are  neglected,  her  sidewalks  dilapidated, 
streets  are  dirty,  and  the  mark  of  neglect  is  in  many  places 
where  the  marks  of  carpenter's .  tools  and  the  paint  brush 
should  appear.  Even  the  Eldridge  House,  costing  $30,000 
or  $40,000,  which  from  external  appearances  one  would  ex- 
pect to  find  up  with  the  times,  is  first  class  in  nothing  but 
price.  That  tolerates  dirty  floors,  cracked  walls,  hard  beds, 
indifferent  fare,  and  butter  which  in  New  England  would  be 
used  for  wheel  grease.  Possibly  Lawrence  may  take  a  start 
by  and  by,  but  with  Kansas  City  40  miles  east,  Topeka  30 
miles  west,  and  Leavenworth  25  miles  north-west,  all  grow- 
ing cities,  the  chances  for  the  expansion  of  Lawrence  are  not 
favorable. 


IN  TOPEKA,  KANSAS.  27 


Run  No.  5. 


'THE  OLD  DROVER"— OTHER  VERMONTERS— TOPEKA  IN  1864,  1873  AND 
1881— INSTITUTIONS— INTEREST  MONEY— NEGRO  EXODUS— PRICES 
OF  LIVING  — ATCHISON,  TOPEKA  AND  SANTA  FE  RAILROAD  — 
CONTACT    WITH    WESTERN  SOCIETY. 


Topeka,  October  12,  1881. 

We  should  not  have  stopped  at  the  capital  of  Kansas  had 
it  not  been  for  W.  F.  Ruggles,  but  knowing  that  the  "Old 
drover"  of  the  Passumpsic  valley  would  never  forgive  us 
should  we  pass  by,  we  concluded  to  give  him  a  call. 

Leaving  Lawrence  Monday  night  at  11  :50  we  dropped  ofl* 
at  Topeka  two  hours  later,  went  a  mile  and  a  quarter  through 
town  to  North  Topeka,  and  put  up  at  the  Adams  house,  kept  by 
Washburn  &  Ruggles.  In  1851  Mr.  Washburn  was  a  clerk 
in  the  Fairbanks  store  at  St.  Johnsbury,  and  ten  years  ago 
Ru^o-les  was  the  "Old  drover"  in  northern  Vermont.  Bill — 
that  is  what  they  call  him  here — is  always  glad  to  see  a  Ver- 
monter,  and  when  on  Tuesday  morning  he  discovered  the 
Governor  and  the  Editor  among  his  guests,  the  upper  part 
of  his  body,  hat  and  coat  included,  was  resolved  into  a 
broad  grin,  which  culminated  in  a  cordial,  "I  swow,  boys, 
where  did  you  come  from  !"  After  the  surprise  was  over  and 
Bill  had  collected  his  wits,  he  put  his  interrogatories  concern- 
ing the  old  acquaintances.  Campbell,  Bela  Hastings,  Wm. 
Ricker,  Trefren,  Capt.  Steve,  Bigelow,  Harris,  and  forty  or 
more  others,  formed  the  first  series  of  interrogatories,  and 
after  talking  them  down  through  he  commenced  at  the  bottom 


28  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

and  talked  them  up  the  column.  After  going  through  the  list 
two  or  three  times,  he  thought  of  more,  added  them  to  the 
list,  and  kept  the  interrogatories  going,  increasing  the  col- 
umn every  time  he  went  over  it.  Bill  remembers  the  old 
Vermont  acquaintances.  He  was  formerly  in  the  milk  busi- 
ness here,  but  for  a  few  years  past  has  got  back  to  his  old 
business,  and  is  an  extensive  stock  broker,  with  credit  at  the 
banks  for  any  accommodation  needed.  He  has  also  for  two 
years  past  been  interested  in  the  hotel,  which  has  a  good  pat- 
ronage from  stock  men  and  farmers  generally.  This,  with  his 
stock  enterprise  and  an  interest  recently  taken  in  a  pump 
manufactory,  gives  him  the  promise  of  becoming  a  million- 
aire, if  he  lives  long  enough.  The  better  "two-thirds"  of 
Bill  is  one  of  the  proprietors  of  a  popular  eating  saloon  near 
the  hotel. 

I  have  met  here  many  Vermonters.  Numerous  enterprises 
of  the  young  city  can  properly  be  credited  to  the  Green 
Mountain  State.  I  found  O.  D.  Skinner,  of  Barton,  conduct- 
ing the  leading  ice  enterprise  of  the  city.  Cook,  of  Greens- 
boro, has  been  promoted  to  policeman.  G.  H.  Gilman,  of 
Laconia,  well  known  to  Vermont  drovers,  is  on  a 
ranche  near  the  town.  K.  A.  Henderson,  of  Sherbrooke, 
I  found  in  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  office, 
clerk  for  the  master  of  transportation.  He  likes  the  push  of 
the  West,  but  not  the  climate,  and  is  making  arrangements  to 
move  to  Texas.  W.  B.  Strong,  president  of  the  A.  T.  &  S. 
F.  railroad,  is  a  Glover  man,  and  many  of  the  officers  under 
him  are  filled  by  boys  from  the  old  Green  Mountain  State. 

In  1864  I  made  a  trip  in  a  buggy  from  Leavenworth  to  To- 
peka. It  then  contained  but  a  few  hundred  population,  and 
was  about  as  uninteresting  a  place  as  one  often  sees.  It  had 
no  future  that  one  could  see,  though  something  was  claimed 
for  it  on  the  ground  of  being  the  capital.  But  it  was  the  cap- 
ital of  a  State  with  the  population  nearly  all  at  the  east  of  it, 
It  was  a  point  far  out  on  the  prairie,  with  the  buffaloes  rang- 
ing undisturbed  on  the  west.     Emigration  societies,  railroad 


7JV  TOPEKA,  KANSAS.  29 

corporations,  etc.,  have  scattered  a  population  all  over  the 
State,  and  the  future  importance  of  Topeka  is  now  assured. 
My  second  visit  was  in  1873,  when  she  numbered  6,000  or 
7,000  people.  To-day  she  claims  20,000,  and  will  probably 
count  up  18,000,  every  state  in  the  union  contributing  more 
or  less  to  the  number.  The  city  is  laid  out  handsomely,  with 
streets  at  right  angles,  those  running  north  and  south  being 
named  after  the  presidents,  and  numbers  designating  those 
running  east  and  west.  The  streets  are  six  rods  wide,  wide 
enough,  at  least,  for  rectangular  parks  between  the  sidewalks 
and  the  carriage  road,  a  feature  which  adds  much  to  the  com- 
fort and  beauty  of  the  city. 

The  educational  advantages  are  complete.  Topeka  has 
nearly  a  dozen  fine  school  houses,  liberally  supported  by  pub- 
lic money.  She  has  the  Washburn  college,  a  mile  out,  Sis- 
ters of  Bethany,  a  prosperous  female  seminary,  and  a  college 
for  the  education  of  Episcopal  ministers.  She  has  three  iron 
foundries,  two  opera  houses,  the  county  court  house  and  post 
office,  now  building,  the  State  House,  six  daily  papers,  four 
miles  of  horse  railroads,  with  cars  drawn  by  one  horsepower, 
the  general  offices  of  the  A.  T.  &  S.  F.  railroad  company,  one 
distillery,  four  breweries,  a  large  number  of  mules,  5,000  to 
8,000  colored  gem'en,  etc.,  etc.  She  has  also  some  excellent 
hotels,  the  Gordon  House  and  Fifth  Avenue  being  the  best. 
She  has  eight  or  ten  private  banks,  but  none  bearing  the  pre- 
fix "National."  One  of  the  bankers  told  me  to-day  that  Na- 
tional banks  were  not  adapted  to  Kansas  business.  He  did 
not  explain  why,  but  their  non-existence  is  a  sufficient  reason 
that  private  banks  pay  better.  Money  loans  easily  for  10  to 
12  per  cent,  on  best  security. 

At  the  time  of  the  negro  exodus  from  the  South,  Topeka 
was  taxed  to  the  utmost,  and  was  frequently  compelled  to 
raise  contributions  to  keep  the  breath  of  life  in  them  while 
they  could  be  assigned  and  distributed  to  different  localities 
in  the  State — for  voting  purposes.  Of  that  exodus  it  is  esti- 
mated that  5,000  to   8,000  settled  permanently  in  the  city. 


30  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

From  the  appearances  on  the  street  I  should  judge  that  at 
least  one-half  of  the  population  wore  a  black  skin.  Some 
streets  in  North  Topeka  produce  nothing  but  niggers.  But 
they  are  generally  willing  to  work,  and  are  becoming  an  in- 
dispensible  part  of  the  place.  Without  them  to-day,  the  city 
would  find  it  impossible  to  continue  the  man}'  projects  she 
has  on  hand. 

There  is  no  better  farming  country  than  that  which  sur- 
rounds this  city,  and  if  farmers  fail  to  do  well,  it  is  either 
because  they  won't  work,  or  because  the  Lord  may  send  a 
season  of  drouth,  which  He  has  pleased  to  do  on  more  than 
one  occasion. 

It  will  interest  the  Vermont  reader,  perhaps,  to  learn  some- 
thing of  the  rauge  of  prices  in  the  locality.  Farm  hands  get 
$15  to  $20  per  month,  day  laborers  $1.50,  carpenters  $2  to 
$2.50,  brick  masons  $2  to  $4  and  plenty  to  do.  Groceries, 
dry  goods,  clothing,  etc.,  do  not  vary  much  from  Vermont 
prices.  Board  costs  from  $3.50  to  $5  per  week,  oats  bring 
40  cents,  corn  50,  Irish  potatoes  $1.50  a  bushel,  eggs  20 
cents,  butter  15  and  30,  apples  80  cents  to  $1.  A  double 
team  at  the  livery  stables  costs  $3  to  $4  a  day.  Single  teams 
are  not  much  used,  except  to  run  about  town.  Fence  lumber 
costs  $22  per  thousand,  wood  $4  a  cord,  soft  coal,  the  only 
kind  obtainable,  $3  to  $3.50  a  ton.  From  this  statement  men 
who  labor  can  easily  calculate  the  comparative  opportunities 
for  earning  a  living  in  this  country  and  in  Vermont.  One 
thing  certainly  favors  this  country — there  is  plenty  to  do  and 
only  lazy  men  bottom  chairs. 

The  most  prominent  industrial  enterprise  in  Topeka  is  the 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad,  the  most  wonder- 
ful railroad  corporation  in  this  country.  It  was  first  agitated 
by  Kansas  people  in  1858  as  a  means  for  developing  the  un- 
improved territory  and  swelling  the  census  of  the  State,  but 
it  was  ten  \^ears  before  the  enterprise  got  a  start.  In  1869 
the  road  was  built  from  Topeka  west  to  Carbondale,  18  miles 
distant.     The  Union  Pacific,  the  great  line  running  through 


IN  TOPEKA,  KANSAS.  31 

the  center  of  the  State  to  Colorado,  called  it  the  "Baby  rail- 
road." But  it  was  a  growing  child.  In  July,  1870,  it  was 
completed  to  Emporia,  61  miles  from  Topeka.  In  '71  it 
reached  Newton,  134  miles  west  from  Topeka,  and  in  '72  the 
line  from  Topeka  to  Atchison,  50  miles,  and  the  spur  from 
Newton  to  Wichita,  was  built,  and  the  west  end  extended  to 
Hutchinson,  218  miles  from  Atchison.  In  1873  the  line  was 
completed  to  Grenada,  Colorado,  480  miles  from  Atchison. 
The  panic  then  came  on  and  the  work  was  checked  till  Boston 
capitalists,  Alden  Speare,  Henry  Keyes,  C.  W.  Pierce,  Thom- 
as, and  others,  secured  control,  when  the  enterprise  was  push- 
ed with  renewed  vigor.  In  1876  it  was  completed  west  to 
Pueblo,  572  miles  from  Atchison,  and  the  line  from  Topeka 
to  Kansas  City,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Kansas  River,  was 
built.  The  work  has  been  steadily  progressing  from  that 
date.  To-day  the  company  is  running  about  1,800  miles  of 
railroad,  as  follows  : 

Main  line,  Atchison  to  Pueblo,  completed  in  1878,  ...  619  miles. 

Arkansas  branch,  from  Malvano  to  Arkansas  City,  completed  in  1877,         -  36 

Caldwell  branch,  from  Newton  to  Caldwell,  completed  in  1877,    -  -  80      " 

Branch  from  Florence  to  Douglas,        -  -  -  -  -  65      " 

Branch  from  Emporia  to  Howard,  _____  75      " 

Branch  from  Topeka  to  Kansas  City,    -  -  -  -  -  -  66      " 

A  second  line  from  Florence  to  Ellenwood,  -  -  -  -  95 

Branch  to  Pleasant  Hill,  Mo.,     -  -  -  -  -  -  -  45      " 

New  Mexico  extension  in  Colorado,  from  La  Junta  to  Trinidad,  -  82 

New  Mexico  line,  from  Trinidad  to  Deming,    -----  498 

From  Lamy  to  Sante  Fe,      -------  18" 

From  Rincon,  N.  M.,  to  El  Pass,  Texas,  say,    -----  100 


Total  number  of  miles,  1.779 

As  may  well  be  supposed,  it  requires  men,  rolling  stock  and 
brain  to  run  such  a  road.  We  have  seen  freight  cars  marked 
up  as  high  as  11,000.  The  number  of  engines  is  between 
300  and  400.  On  the  pay  roll  in  August  were  9,854  men, 
not  including  some  2,000  discharged  from  construction  trains 
during  the  month.  The  total  pay  roll  for  August  was  $493,- 
000.  The  paymaster,  James  Moore,  who  is  a  young  man  in 
the  employ  of  the  road  from  its  beginning,  informs  me  that 


32  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

he  rides  2,500  miles  every  month,  using  up  12  days  in  pass- 
ing out  the  company's  checks  to  the  boys. 

The  shops  and  general  offices  of  the  company  are  at  Tope- 
ka.  From  George  Hackney,  the  master  mechanic,  I  gathered 
the  following :  Employed  about  the  shops  are  650  men, 
there  being  125  machinists,  179  wood  workers,  84  black- 
smiths, 85  boiler  makers,  46  painters,  20  copper  and  tin- 
smiths, 5  brass  moulders,  and  93  laborers.  The  shop  pay 
roll  in  September  was  $56,371.85.  The  total  pay  roll  in  the 
mechanical  department  for  September  was  $104,053.05. 
There  are  nearly  2,500  employees  of  the  line  living  in  To- 
peka,  estimated  as  follows  :  Shops  650,  office  men  600,  train 
and  yard  men  1,000.  The  money  paid  by  the  corporation 
greases  the  business  wheels  of  Topeka  to  the  extent  of  about 
$75,000  a  month,  and  if  Topeka  is  not  a  friend  to  the  A.  T. 
&  S.  F.  railroad  it  is  because  she  does  not  know  on  which  side 
of  her  manna  the  oleomargarine — butter  is  scarce  and  strong- 
— is  spread.  In  making  a  run  to-day  through  the  offices, 
which  are  countless  in  number,  I  called  on  G.  O.  Manchester, 
the  assistant  manager,  Col.  Johnson,  land  commissioner, 
Gleed,  formerly  of  Morrisville,  Vt.,  the  advertiser,  Cook,  the 
paymaster,  and  others  of  the  different  departments,  all  perfect 
gentlemen,  full  of  earnest  business  spirit,  and  willing  to  im- 
part information  desired. 

Tired,  grumpy,  vain  employes  on  some  of  the  eastern  roads 
can  emigrate  West,  and  soon  be  converted  into  energetic, 
good  natured,  every  day  sort  of  men.  Contact  with  western 
society  rubs  off  the  airs,  and  puts  energy  and  practical  sense 
into  business  manners  and  methods.  I  know  many  pieces  of 
eastern  railroad  pomposity  who  could  be  drawn  through  west- 
ern mud,  put  through  a  little  western  business  experience,  and 
thus  be  converted  into  common  people,  and  made  agreeable 
and  quite  useful  in  the  industrial  walks  of  life. 


THR  O  UGH  KANSA  S.  33 


Run  No  6. 


THE  RUN  THROUGH  KANSAS— GROWTH  OF  TOWNS— THE  ARKANSAS 
RIVER— BANK  INTEREST— THE  "WICKEDEST  TOWN  IN  KANSAS"— 
DUG-OUTS— THE  HERD  LAW— MAJOR  FALLS'  OPINION  OF  STOCK- 
RAISING. 


Trinidad,  Col.,  October  15,  1881. 

After  visiting  the  principal  places  and  traversing  the  streets 
and  avenues  of  the  State  capital,  under  the  escort  of  the  "Old 
Drover,"  we  took  a  crowded  train  Thursday  noon  for  the 
West.  Passing  Pauline,  Wakarusa,  Carbondale,  and  Scran- 
ton,  we  reach  Burlingame,  26  miles  from  Topeka,  where  a 
branch  road  starts  for  Manhattan,  some  50  miles  northwest  on 
the  U.  P.  road.  Thirty-five  miles  more  carries  us  past  Peter- 
ton,  Osage  City,  Barclay,  Reading  and  Horton  Creek,  to  Em- 
poria, 61  miles  from  Topeka.  Here  the  branch  road  runs  to 
Howard,  60  or  70  miles  south.  Connection  is  also  made  with 
the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  line,  running  north  and  south.- 
All  the  towns  from  Topeka  to  Emporia  are  engaged  in  coal 
mining.  The  country  passed  over  is  mostly  flat  prairie,  but 
generally  under  cultivation. 

In  1864  Emporia  was  the  western  settlement  in  this  direc- 
tion— the  jumping  off  place.  I  was  then  on  the  Times  at 
Leavenworth,  and  knew  that  "Sam  Wood"  published  a  wide 
awake,  cussedly  independent  paper  at  Emporia,  and  that  was 
all  I  knew  about  the  place.  Since  then  it  has  grown  to  a  city 
of  8000  people,  has  the  State  Normal  school,  good  water 
works,  fire  department,  is  an  important  railroad  center,   and 


34  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

has  a  future  of  great  expectations.  This  is#  the  end  of  the 
coal  mining  enterprises. 

Leaving  Emporia  we  pass  Plymouth,  Safford,  Ellinor,  Cot- 
tonwood, Elmdale,  Cedar  Grove  and  reach  Florence,  105  miles 
from  Topeka,  at  six  o'clock.  The  train  went  along,  but  we 
stopped  and  made  back  into  town,  fifty  rods,  to  the  Florence 
house,  where  we  rested  for  the  night,  and  found  the  first  hotel 
where  they  are  out  of  butter  and  soap.  But,  unless  Florence 
has  a  better  breed  of  cows  than  Kansas  towns  on  the  east, 
the  butter  was  no  loss,  and,  as  I  vote  the  democratic  ticket, 
the  absence  of  soap  did  not  intefere  with  toilet  plans. 

Florence  is  ten  years  old,  has  about  1000  inhabitants,  is  on 
a  perfect  flat,  has  ten  feet  of  productive  soil,  a  good  stone 
quarry,  very  valuable  in  this  country,  and  has  some  hopes  for 
future  prominence.  A  branch  road  runs  fifty  or  sixty  miles 
south  to  Douglas,  and  the  main  line  branches  here,  connect- 
ing again  at  Ellinwood,  100  miles  west. 

Friday  morning  at  seven  o'clock  we  take  another  crowded 
train  for  the  west,  pass  Homers,  Peabody  and  Walton,  and 
come  to  Newton,  134  miles  from  Topeka  and  201  miles  from 
Kansas  City,  a  place  of  several  thousand  people  and  much 
public  spirit.  The  road  branches  here  again,  and  terminates 
on  the  south  line  of  the  state  at  Caldwell,  Hunnewell,  Arkan- 
sas City  and  Harper.  This  branch,  with  its  several  sub  branch- 
es, brings  into  Newton  an  immense  cattle  business.  Wichita, 
•on  this  branch,  was  five  or  six  years  ago  the  point  where  the 
Texas  cattle  herders  congregated  with  immense  herds  to  meet 
buyers  from  the  north.  The  business  now  culminates  at  the 
ends  of  the  line  further  south.  From  Newton  we  pass  Hul- 
stead,  Burton,  Hutchinson  and  come  to  Nickerson,  the  next 
town  of  any  importance. 

Here  we  first  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  Arkansas  river,  a  dull, 
sluggish  stream,  without  tree  or  shrub  to  mark  its  winding 
course  through  the  flat  prairie.  It  looks  singular  to  New  Eng- 
land eyes  to  see  a  large  stream  making  its  way  to  the  sea  in 
such  a  blind,  lonesome  style.     The  river  has  been  there  a  long 


THR OUGH  KANSA S.  35 

time,  never  overflowing  its  banks  or  changing  its  channel,  a 
quiet  stream,  and  giving  nobody  any  trouble.  If  it  only 
would  overflow  and  irrigate  the  rich  prairie  at  regular  inter- 
vals, it  would  do  away  with  the  frequent  cry  of  "drouth  in 
Southern  Kansas,"  increase  confidence  in  the  country  and 
more  rapidly  fill.it  up. 

Leaving  Nickerson,  we  pass  Sterling  and  come  to  Raymond, 
a  little  place  of  some  twenty  houses,  named,  we  presume,  af- 
ter Emmons  of  the  Passumpsic  line,  but  with  nothing  to  in- 
crease our  respect  for  Raymond,  of  the  Passumpsic  railroad. 
Ellenwood,  276  miles  from  Kansas  City,  comes  next.  Here 
the  branch  which  leaves  Florence,  100  miles  east,  again  joins 
the  main  line,  The  company  are  putting  in  a  good  round 
house,  a  fine  depot,  and  the  life,  bustle  and  building  indicate 
future  prosperity  and  importance. 

Great  Bend  is  next  in  order,  218  miles  from  Kansas  City. 
The  village  is  ten  years  old  and  is  the  first  one  yet  reached, 
and  probably  the  only  one  on  the  line,  which  is  located  away 
from  the  track.  The  town  was  started  in  anticipation  of  the 
railroad,  and,  not  coming  to  terms  in  some  respects  with  the 
demands  of  the  company,  it  was  left  a  half  mile  to  the  right. 
The  town  has  1600  population,  the  court  house  of  Marion 
county,  a  bank,  a  newspaper,  a  good  surrounding  but  sparse- 
ly settled  country,  and  expects,  of  course,  like  every  Kansas 
town,  to  be  a  railroad  and  political  center. 

In  conversation  with  A.  J.  Housington,  the  newspaper  man 
of  Great  Bend,  I  learned  that  the  old  Western  rate  of  inter- 
est is  in  vogue  in  this  part  of  Kansas.  There  is  one  private 
bank  here  which  loans-  at  two  and  frequently  as  high  as  three 
per  cent,  a  month.  To  regular  customers  of  the  bank  12  per- 
cent, is  the  common  rate.  The  demand  for  money  is  great- 
er than  the  supply,  which  enables  the  bank  to  get  the  highest 
rate  in  all  cases  where  the  parties  must  have  the  money. 
Even  as  far  east  as  Florence,  I  learned  that  10  per  cent,  was 
the  low  rate  and  two  per  cent,  a  month  not  uncommon.  On 
three  to  five  year  loans,  with  mortgage  security,  parties  ex- 


3G  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

pect  to  get  loans  at  8  per  cent,  by  giving  the  loan  companies 
5  per  cent,  of  the  whole  sum  borrowed,  as  a  commission.  On 
a  three  years'  loan  this  would  be  equivalent  to  nearly  10  per 
cent. 

At  the  next  station,  Larned,  240  miles  from  Kansas  City, 
the  train  stops  for  a  twenty  minutes'  lunch..  A  dozen  bells 
are  ringing  over  the  way,  from  a  dozen  different  doors.  We 
follow  the  crowd  up  the  street  and  dodge  into  a  half  saloon, 
half  bakery,  half  store,  &c,  and  sit  down  to  a  cup  of  coffee, 
roast  hog,  biscuit  and  oleomargarine,  to  say  nothing  of  stray 
hairs  and  bits  of  prairie  soil  rooted  in.  It  all  goes  down  to- 
gether, for  this  everlasting  stretch  of  the  eyes  over  distant 
prairie  space,  in  search  for  objects  to  rest  upon,  has  sharpen- 
ed the  appetite. 

Garfield  is  the  next  village,  and  I  suspect  he  would  have 
been  remembered  had  that  half  dozen  houses  been  named 
Lincoln,  Grant,  "or  any  other  man." 

Nettleton  surprised  me.  I  counted  five  houses,  and  in  the 
door  of  one  of  them  stood  a  pair  of  bare  legs  which  run  down 
through  a  calico  dress/  The  wind  was  blowing  furiously  and 
the  longitude  of  the  view  varied  with  the  frisky  motion  of  the 
atmosphere.  But  that  prairie  female  was  counting  the  cars, 
perfectly  indifferent  to  the  entertainment  she  was  furnishing 
the  passengers. 

Kinsley  and  Offerlo  come  next  in  order  and  then  we  reach 
Spearville,  named,  we  are  sure,  in  honor  of  Alden  Speare,  of 
Newton  Mass.,  and  a  director  of  the  Passumpsic  railroad.  So 
far  as  the  compliment  goes  Mr.  Speare  will  have  to  accept 
the  will  fortne  deed,  until  Spearville  grows  into  importance 
enough  to  reflect  the  intended  honor. 

Dodge  City,  "the  wickedest  town  in  Kansas,"  363  miles  from 
Kansas  City,  and  250  miles  from  Pueblo,  is  reached  at  four 
o'clock.  A  little  to  the  west  of  Dodge  the  prairie  begins  to 
tumble  up,  and  is  not  so  tediously  monotonous  as  east  of  that 
point.  All  day  long  we  have  passed  over  a  flat  expanse  of 
territory,  following  along  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail.     We  are    on 


THR O  UGH  KA NSAS.  37 

the  Plain  of  which  so  much  was  heard  years  ago,  when  the  Cal- 
ifornia emigration  commenced.  It  is  not  waste,  but  a  rich 
and  productive  country,  except  in  dry  seasons.  Villages  are 
started  at  intervals  along  the  line  of  the  road,  and  men  in  pur-, 
suit  of  farms  have  located  here  and  there  at  distant  and  near 
points.  Frequently  a  long  way  oft' a  single  house  is  seen,  with 
not  another  object  within  ten  miles  of  it.  How  lonesome  it 
looks  ! 

Near  Dodge  City  is  Fort  Dodge,  where  a  company  of  sol- 
diers are  now  stationed.  The  Fort  was  established  many  years 
ago,  for  protection  of  the  frontier  against  Indians.  This  is  the 
Buffalo  range,  the  home  of  antelopes,  prairie  wolves,  and  oth- 
er game.  But  the  railroad  iron,  the  scattering  houses  and  the 
occasional  village  have  driven  them  away.  Antelopes  and 
wolves  are  still  seen,  but  the  buffalo  is  very  rare.  Prairie  dogs 
begin  to  appear  in  great  numbers  west  of  Dodge. 

I  noticed  here  the  first  dug  out,  or  roof  of  a  house  set  upon 
the  top  of  the  ground,  covering  a  cellar  used  for  a  kitchen, 
dining-room,  bed-room,  &c.  The  turf  house  also  appears  here 
occasionally,  it  being  a  house,  so  called,  built  entirely  of  turfs 
dug  up  on  the  prairie.  Shelter  for  the  home  cow  or  horse  is 
made  of  the  same  material.  Wild  geese  appear  by  myriads 
whenever  we  come  in  sight  of  the  sluggish  Arkansas. 

We  tried  to  persuade  the  Governor  to  drop  off  at  Dodge,  and 
wait  for  the  next  train,  but,  not  liking  the  looks  of  the  cow  boys' 
revolver,  the  squint  of  their  eyes  and  the  reputation  of  the 
community,  he  was  in  a  hurry  to  get  into  New  Mexico.  Dodge 
City  is  the  principal  cattle  depot  in  western  Kansas,  and,  with- 
out doubt,  it  once  ranked  high  in  the  list  of  wicked  towns,  but 
it  is  as  safe  to-day  in  Dodge  as  in  any  western  town. 

East  of  Dodge  the  herd  law  prevails,  each  owner  being  re- 
quired to  herd  his  own  cattle,  and  keep  them  from  trespassing 
upon  the  rights  of  others.  But  on  the  west  they  are  allow- 
ed to  range,  and  all  the  owner  has  to  do  is  to  brand  and  turn 
them  loose.  Soon  after  passing  the  station,  great  bunches  of 
cattle  and  sheep  begin  to  appear,  sometimes  near  the  track  and 


38  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

sometimes   far  off  on  the  plain.    The   conversation  is  all  about 
ranching,  grazing,  rounding  up,  cutting  out,  etc.,  etc. 

The  entire  southwestern  part  of  Kansas,  formerly  known  as 
the  waste  plains,  is  a  wonderfully  fertile  country,  but  not  well 
watered.  The  lazy  Arkansas  and  Cimarron  rivers,  with  their 
branches,  supply  all  the  water  there  is  for  stock.  A  width  of 
country,  forty  miles  or  more  in  extent,  is  frequent  without  any 
water.  Stock  men  are  taking  advantage  of  this,  buying  strips 
of  land  for  miles  along  the  streams  and  thus  controlling  all  the 
unwatered  land  back.  The  purchase  of  a  few  sections  on  the 
streams  gives  them,  to  all  practical  purposes,  the  possession  of 
ten  times  the  amount  of  their  purchase  for  the  use  of  their  stock. 
Purchasers  will  not  invest  in  land  unless  they  can  have  access 
to  the  streams.  A  company  has  just  been  formed  in  Lawrence 
which  has  purchased  the  land  tor  thirty  miles  along  the  banks 
of  the  Cimarron  river,  and  they  own  for  practical  grazing  pur- 
poses a  tract  of  land  fifteen  by  thirty  miles  in  extent,  and  are 
now  stocking  it.  The  profits  of  stock  ranches  well  conducted 
are  simply  immense.  In  a  future  letter  1  will  endeavor  to  fur- 
nish the  reader  figures  to  give  an  idea  of  the  profits  of  money 
invested  in  this  enterprise. 

After  leaving  Dodge  I  fell  into  conversation  with  Major  Falls, 
who  is  in  company  with  Mr.  Strong,  President  of  the  Atchison, 
Topekaand  Santa  Fe  road,  and  Fred  Harvey,  who  has  the  vict- 
ualling business  on  the  line.  They  own  a  ranch  at  Deerfield,  432 
miles  west  of  Kansas  City,  have  it  stocked  with  7000  cattle, 
and  the  Major  says  there  is  no  end  to  the  profits.  He  is  man- 
aging man — the  stock  man — of  the  concern,  and  gets  a  salary 
of  $1500  for  his  supervision.  I  asked  him  which  he  prefer- 
red, the  salary  or  his  third  of  the  net  profits.  "Salary  !  "  said 
he,  "that  amounts  to  nothing.  You  eastern  men  don't  seem 
to  have  a  right  smart  comprehension  of  the  profits  of  cattle 
raising  out  West."  The  Major  has  been  in  it  for  twenty-six 
years,  and  he  knows.  From  numerous  men  I  have  conversed 
with,  the  same  story  of  sure  and  great  profit  comes.  It  is 
the  only  thing  on  which  all  parties  are  agreed. 

In  extensive  stock   ranching~a  man  makes  no  account  of  dis- 


IN  TRINIDAD,  COLORADO.  39 

tance.  He,  with  his  cow  boys,  is  alone  on  the  prairie.  The 
ranch  is  perhaps  fifty  miles  in  extent.  The  next  neighbor 
may  be  running  a  similar  piece  of  territory.  It  is  nothing  to 
straddle  a  horse  and  ride  50,  80  or  100  miles  on  an  errand, 
dropping  down  on  the  grass  where  night  overtakes  one.  A 
ranch  man  straddles  his  pony  and  starts  out  alone  across  the 
dreary  prairie  lor  some  other  county,  or  some  distant  part  of 
the  state,  with  less  ado  than  half  the  men  in  a  New  England 
country  village  leave  home  for  an  adjoining  town. 

West  of  Dover  the  villages  are  few  and  far  between.  All 
of  them  have  started  since  the  railroad  came,  and  they  all 
straddle  the  track.  From  Dodge  we  pass  Howell,  Cimarron, 
Belfast,  Pierceville  (C.  W.  Pierce  of  Boston)  and  come  to  Gar- 
den City,  where  a  few  farmers  have  settled  and  are  making 
attempts  at  general  farming.  This  town  is  419  miles  west  of 
the  river.  We  then  pass  Sherlock,  Deerfield,  Lakein,  Hart- 
land,  Aubry,  Syracuse  and  Med  way,  and  come  to  Coolidge,  485 
miles  from  Kansas  City.  Here  we  take  supper  at  eight  o'clock 
and  the  next  three  miles  takes  us  to  Colorado  line,  488  miles 
west  of  Kansas  City.  Everybody  in  the  cars  is  going  to  sleep, 
and  I  put  up  the  pencil  and  fall  into  line  with  the  rest.  But  a 
general  shaking  up  occurs  at  La  Junta  (Hunta)  at  one  o'clock, 
where  the  train  divides,  and  baggage  is  tumbled  about  promis- 
cuously. One  branch  goes  straight  to  Pueblo,  63  miles  west, 
and  the  other  turns  south  towards  New  Mexico,  and  before  the 
end  of  the  New  Mexico  line  is  reached,  the  weary  traveler  has 
578  miles  more  to  travel  to  Deming.  La  Junta  is  555  miles 
from  Kansas  City,  and  Deming  578  miles  from  La  Junta,  mak- 
ing the  full  distance  1,133. 

At  six  o'clock  this  morning  the  conductor  calls  out  "Trini- 
dad ! "  which  reminds  me  that  I  must  mail  this  letter.  But  1 
will  first  remark  that  Trinidad  is  at  the  end  of  the  vast  prairie, 
"the  Plains,"  as  the  California  emigrants  called  it,  and  is  a  city  of 
6,000  people,  snugly  built  at  the  foot  hills  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. Next  comes  the  grandeur  of  Rocky  Mountain  scenery 
and  the  pass  over  the  mountain  gorge  with  the  sixty-five  ton 
engine,  assisted  by  the  common  engine  at  the  rear  of  the  train. 


40  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


Run  No.  7. 


ELEVATION  AT  THE  FOOT  HILLS— IN  NEW  MEXICO— RATON— MUD 
HOUSES— ADOBE  HOUSES— HOTEL  BED  ROOMS— DECEPTIVE  DIS- 
TANCES—SPRINGER— CIMARRON— F.  R.  SHERWIN  AND  HIS  MAX- 
WELL GRANT— FORMATION  AND  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  FOOT  HILLS. 


Cimarron,  N.  M.,  October  17,  1881. 

As  the  railroad  approaches  the  Rocky  Mountains  there  is  an 
average  rise  often  feet  to  the  mile.  At  Kansas  City  the  ele- 
vation above  the  sea  is  763  feet.  At  Trinidad,  651  miles  west 
of  Kansas  City,  the  elevation  is  4,713  feet 

Cimarron  is  eighty  miles  southwest  of  La  Junta,  where  the 
New  Mexico  line  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  road 
begins.  From  Trinidad,  Colorado,  to  Cimarron,  New  Mexico, 
is  about  sixty  miles.  In  making  the  distance  the  railroad  had 
the  Raton  mountain  to  contend  with.  In  crossing  there  is  an 
average  grade  of  121  feet  to  the  mile  for  fifteen  miles  from 
Trinidad,  the  greatest  grade  in  one  place  being  185  feet  to  the 
mile.  The  road  crosses  the  New  Mexico  line  at  its  highest 
point,  then  tunnels  the  mountain  for  a  distance  of  a  half  mile, 
and  begins  the  descent  into  New  Mexico. 

Fourteen  miles  brings  the  train  to  Raton  village,  where  the 
railroad  company  are  erecting  shops.  Stores  and  dwellings 
have  sprung  up,  and  in  a  little  over  a  year  the  village  has 
grown  from  a  beginning  to  about  1200  people.  Extensive  coal 
and  coke  mining  is  going  on,  which  is  being  rapidly  increased. 
The  railroad  and  coal  companies  are  paying  out  for  help  month- 
ly in  the  village  over  $30,000.     The  coal  mines  here  are  said 


IN  CIMA  RR  ON,  NE  W  MEXICO.  41 

to  be  among  the  best  in  this  part  of  the  world.  There  is  a 
stratum  six  or  seven  feet  deep,  which  crops  out  of  the  side  of 
the  mountains  and  saves  the  expense  of  sinking  a  shaft.  Many 
predict  that  Raton  has  a  great  future  before  her,  and  that  the 
pay  roll  to  that  village  will  be  $100,000  a  month  within  two  or 
three  years. 

We  breakfast  at  Raton,  exchange  the  sixty-five  ton  six- 
teen wheel  engine,  used  to  take  the  train  over  the  pass,  tor  the 
common  locomotive,  blow  the  whistle  and  resume  the  journey. 
Forty  miles  brings  us  to  Springer,  where  we  stop  and  wait  for 
the  Cimarron  stage,  from  nine  to  twelve  o'clock.  Here  we  get 
the  first  sight  of  the  genuine  Mexican,  and  have  an  opportunity 
to  examine  the  Adobe  House. 

You  would  not  like  to  live  in  a  mud  house,  reader,  would 
you  ?  But  let  me  tell  you  about  it.  To  begin  with,  it  is  much 
cheaper  than  wood,  and,  to  say  nothing  about  looks,  is  a  great 
deal  better.  Very  comfortable  houses  are  made  here  by  dig- 
ging prairie  sods,  piling  them  up,  one  top  of  the  other,  enclos- 
ing a  square  the  size  wanted,  across  which  is  laid  poles,  which 
are  again  covered  with  sods.  A  place  is  left  in  one  side  for  a 
door,  and  one  or  two  places  in  other  sides  for  windows.  This 
is  the  common  Mexican's  house,  and  until  one  gets  close  to  it 
it  can't  be  distinguished  from  a  lump  of  any  other  dirt.  .Unless 
a  traveler  keeps  up  a  tolerable  look-out  he  is  liable  to  pass  the 
mansion  of  some  unpretending  native  without  knowing  it.  If 
a  Mexican  wants  to  give  his  donkey  shelter,  he  can  dig  a  few 
turfs,  *pile  them  five  or  six  feet  high  around  a  small  space,  and 
turn  the  animal  in.  If  he  is  particularly  tender  of  his  beast,  he 
will  roof  that  over  also  with  straw  or  mud.  But  the  side  shel- 
ter is  generally  considered  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  A  little 
regard  for  looks  will  sometimes  induce  a  Mexican  to  dig  up 
some  dirt,  mix  it  with  sand,  and  spread  it  on  the  outside  of  his 
sods  with,  a  wooden  trowel.  This  gives  the  outside  of  the 
house  a  smooth  surface,  which  adheres  well. 

The  adobe  brick  is  prairie  soil,  water  and  sand,  mixed  to- 
gether, moulded,  and  laid  in  the  sun  to  dry.  They  are  eight 
inches  long,  nine  inches  wide  and  four  inches  thick,  and  when 


42  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

done  are  not  as  hard  as  burned  brick,  but  sufficiently  hard  for 
building  walls  and  are  durable.  Men  can  be  hired  to  furnish 
their  own  material  and  make  them  for  $8.00  a  thousand.  An 
Eastern  builder  can  compare  these  with  the  size  of  burned 
brick,  and  easily  calculate  the  comparative  cost  of  brick  houses 
in  the  east  and  New  Mexico.  Men  charge  $10  a  thousand  for 
laying  them  in  the  wall.  Few  houses  are  built  over  one  story 
high,  though  occasionally  an  "ambitious  man  will  build  two,  and 
once  in  a  great  while  three  stories  high.  The  walls  are  usually 
eighteen  inches  thick,  but  if  the  house  is  two  stories,  the  first 
story  wall  is  twenty-seven  inches,  and  the  second  eighteen 
inches.  Partition  walls  are  eighteen  inches  in  the  first  story 
and  nine  in  the  second.  Partition  joist  are  sometimes  set  up,  in 
which  case  the  brick  are  set  on  edge  between  the  joists,  mak- 
ing a  four  inch  wall.  The  bricks  are  tacked  to  the  joists  with 
nails  and  the  partition  is  thus  made  perfectly  firm.  A  kind  ot 
mortar  is  made  of  one-third  mud  and  two-thirds  sand,  which  is 
spread  on  the  partitions  with  trowel!,  and  is  as  firm  as  lime 
mortar.  The  house  is  very  warm  in  winter  and  very  cool  in 
summer.  Eavesdropping  through  the  partitions  is  out  of  the 
question,  and  in  some  Eastern  communities  they  might  not  be 
popular  on  that  account.  Many  builders  plaster  the  outside  of 
the  house  with  mud  and  check  it  off"  into  squares,  to  resemble 
brick  or  square  stones.  The  best  adobe  houses  are  papered 
and  nicely  finished  inside  with  native  pine,  which  costs  $30.00 
a  thousand.  The  regular  house  of  the  native  has  the  flat  roof, 
but  Americans  usually  put  on  the  pitch  roof,  and  shingle  it. 
Qne  peculiarity  of  the  houses  here  is  that  most  of  the  rooms 
have  an  outside  door,  and  in  corner  rooms  it  is  not  uncommon 
to  find  two  of  them.  It  seems  odd  to  step  out  of  one's  sleep- 
ing room  directly  into  the  open  air.  But  that  is  the  style.  If 
you  stop  at  one  of  the  old  mud  hotels  and  are  assigned  room 
No  11,  say,  you  take  the  key  from  the  bar  at  night  and  prome- 
nade up  and  down  the  street  till  you  reach  that  number,  where 
you  unlock  and  take  possessiom.  The  first  time  1  was  escorted 
to  a  room  I  supposed  the  hotel  was  full  and  that  the  landlord 
had  farmed  me  out  to  a  neighbor.     But  when  I  inquired  who 


•    IN  CIMARRON,  NEW  MEXICO.  43 

was  to  furnish  the  breakfast,  he  comprehended  my  perplexity, 
and  explained  the  situation. 

Springer  is  a  station  started  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  when  the 
railroad  went  through  this  locality.  It  has  a  depot,  two  stores, 
an  adobe  hotel,  a  billiard  or  pool  room,  and  a  dozen  little  houses. 
It  expects  to  be  larger,  but  what  shall  build  it  up  a  passing 
stranger  cannot  see.  But  it  has  trade  from  ranch  men  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  east.  The  store  of  Porter  &  Clothier  did 
a  business  of  $60,000  last  month.  A  ranch  man  may  not  come 
often,  but  when  he  comes,  he  loads  up  $300  to  $1200  worth  of 
goods,  and  departs  for  headquarters.  The  store  alluded  to  is 
about  150  feet  long,  and  is  full  of  everything  used  by  man  or 
beast,  from  a  cambric  needle  to  a  four  hQrse  wagon. 

At  twelve  o'clock  the  Cimarron  stage  arrived  and  we  took 
passage  for  the  town,  twenty-one  miles  west  of  the  railroad 
line.  The  prairie  seems  to  come  to  an  end  at  a  range  of  foot 
hills,  to  all  appearance  five  or  six  miles  west  of  the  railroad. 
The  driver  pointed  out  the  site  of  Cimarron,  which  he  said  was 
three  miles  east  of  the  hills.  I  told  him  that  the  town  was 
said  to  be  twenty  miles  distant.  "Yes,"  said  he,  4<it  is  about 
twenty-five  miles  to  the  foot  of  the  hills."  I  found  he  was  cor- 
rect, for  the  first  two  hours  of  smart  travel  failed  to  bring  the 
hills  any  nearer.  Not  a  house  or  fence  was  passed  during  the 
first  fifteen  miles.  The  road  was  over  the  rolling  prairie,  with 
no  object  to  attract  the  eye,  except  the  distant  range  of  hills, 
which  seemed  to  keep  their  distance  in  spite  of  us,  and  the  roll 
of  the  prairie.  In  New  England  the  traveler  expects  to  find 
a  few  scattering  houses  before  reaching  a  village,  but  not  so  in 
New  Mexico.  It  is  all  lonesome  prairie  until  the  village  is 
reached. 

Cimarron  is  an  adobe  village,  containing  some  200  people. 
The  whiteness  of  the  New  England  village  is  entirely  wanting, 
the  houses  being  nearly  the  color  of  the  ground.  There  are 
no  yards,  no  meeting  house  steeples,  only  two  or  three  second 
stories,  and  the  absence  of  the  New  England  style  of  homes  is 
conspicuously  noticeable  everywhere.  About  half  of  the  popula- 
tion are  Mexicans,  the  others  being  Americans  who  have  come 


44  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

in  from  various  Western  states.  This  portion  of  the  population 
is  intelligent  and  several  of  them  possess  great  wealth.  H.  M. 
Porter  is  the  leading  merchant,  and  is  reported  to  be  very 
wealthy,  having  made  his  fortune  in  mercantile  business,  min- 
ing and  cattle  raising.  He  owns  a  store  at  Silver  City,  at 
Springer,  here,  and  other  places,  all  doing  a  heavy  business. 
He  also  has  one  or  two  banks,  a  mine  at  Silver  City,  and  a  cop- 
per mine  near  this  place,  all  paying  him  large  profits. 

But  the  heaviest  man  in  this  part  of  New  Mexico  is  F.  R. 
Sherwin.  If  he  is  not  worth  five  or  ten  millions  to-day,  he 
must  be  in  the  near  future.  Let  me  explain.  In  1841  be- 
tween 2,000,000  and  3,000,000  acres  of  land  in  this  part  of 
New  Mexico  was  granted  to  Beaubien  &  Miranda,  to  induce  them 
to  colonize  it.  L.  B.  Maxwell  married  a  daughter  of  one  of  the 
parties,  and  afterward  secured  the  entire  grant  from  the  heirs 
of  both  grantees.  The  title  was  confirmed  by  Congress  in  1860. 
He  conveyed  his  right  to  a  company  which  organized  the  Max- 
well Land  Grant  and  railway  company,  and  incorporated  with 
a  capital  of  $5,000,000,  divided  into  50,000  shares,  with  a  par 
value  of  $100  each.  The  company  borrowed  700,000  pounds 
sterling  of  a  Dutch  company  and  mortgaged  the  grant  for  se- 
curity. Payments  of  interest  were  defaulted,  and  in  a  long 
string  of  litigation  which  followed  the  stock  run  down  to  a 
nominal  sum,  and  Sherwin,  a  sharp,  shrewd,  penetrating  man- 
ager, secured  a  controling  interest  in  the  stock.  In  1879 
there  was  a  re- organization  and  a  patent  issued  to  the  company. 
The  company  has  a  capital  of  $5,000,000,  of  which  Mr.  Sher- 
win owns  sixty-six  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  In  the  grant  un- 
disposed of  there  is  still  1 ,700,000  acres  of  land.  Of  this  amount 
600,000  is  coal  land,  and  200,000  of  iron,  silver,  gold  and  lead, 
all  very  rich.  One  of  the  gold  mines  has  yielded  $60,000  per 
month  with  a  ten  stamp  mill.  This  mine  is  located  twenty- 
five  miles  northwest  of  Cimarron.  A  coal  mine  has  been  re- 
cently organized  by  the  Maxwell  Land  company  and  the  Atch- 
ison, Topeka  <fc  Santa  Fe  railroad  company,  and  has  leased  of  the 
Maxwell  company  for  fifty  years  10,000  acres  of  land  and  open- 
ed a  mine  at  Dillon,  near  Raton.     As  there  is  no  coal  below 


IN  CIMARRON,  NEW  MEXICO.  45 

here,  and  as  the  mine  is  very  rich,  having  a  stratum  of  coal 
six  feet  thick,  the  coal  company  has  the '  prospect  of  im- 
mense profits  as  they  work  the  mine.  The  Maxwell  Land  com- 
pany has  also  organized  a  cattle  company,  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $1,000,000,  and  this  cattle  company  has  the  grazing  on  the 
entire  land — 1,700,000  acres.  There  is  no  better  grazing  land 
in  the  territory,  none  better  watered  or  sheltered  than  that 
embraced  in  the  Maxwell  grant.  Mr.  Sherwin  has  the  lion's 
share  in  all  these  companies,  and,  unless  Providence  takes  a 
special  dislike  to  this  part  of  creation  and  punishes  it  in  some 
unexpected  manner,  Mr.  Sherwin  will  soon  require  an  extra 
force  of  secretaries  to  count  and  record  his  income. 

Mr.  Sherwin  is  a  man  about  45  years  old,  was  born  in  west- 
ern Massachusetts,  emigrated  to  the  West,  was  wholesale  mer- 
chant in  Milwaukee,  afterwards  member  of  the  Louisiana  re- 
turning board  at  the  time  of  the  great  unpleasantness,  (I  can't 
brag  him  up  on  that  account),  then  operator  on  Wall  street, 
New  York,  next  a  broker  in  London,  England,  where  he  got  a 
flea  in  his  ear  in  relation  to  the  New  Mexico  land  grant,  came 
over  here,  and  the  result  is,  after  a  variety  of  legal  struggles 
and  shrewd  management,  the  pivot  of  the  Maxwell  land  is  in  his 
trousers  pocket,  and  he  is  rich.  Is  his  title  sound  ?  you  ask. 
Every  attempt  in  Washington  to  break  it  has  failed,  and  every 
trial  in  the  territorial  courts,  of  which  there  have  been  many, 
has  resulted  in  sustaining  the  original  grant  and  the  titles  de- 
rived from  it. 

Geologists  can,  perhaps,  explain  how  this  country  was  form- 
ed, but  I  cannot.  I  find  a  broad,  gentle,  undulating,  rich  prai- 
rie country  laid  down  against  the  foot  hills  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, with  strips  of  prairie  reaching  in  and  among  the  hills. 
The  hills  are  not  like  those  in  New  England.  The  different 
strata,  or  deposits  of  stone,  which  form  the  earth's  surface,  have 
never  been  disturbed,  but  still  lie  in  a  horizontal  position, 
showing  that  the  hills  were  some  time  formed  by  the  action  of 
water.  Standing  upon  the  brow  of  one  of  these  hills,  you  can 
easily  imagine  the  broad  prairie  to  be  a  former  sea,  with  numer- 
ous  points »of    it  making   far  back   into  the. main  land.      As 


46  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

the  water  went  away,  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  after  many  thou- 
sand years,  became  fertile  land,  a  range  for  buffalos,  antelopes, 
and  a  parade  ground  for  wild  Indians.  The  water,  setting  back 
into  the  land,  left  the  valleys,  or  canons,  as  the  Mexicans  call 
them,  and  these  canons  stretch  in  through  the  hills  for  a  dis- 
tance of  50  or  60  miles  before  the  great  mountains  are  reached, 
forming  some  of  the  finest  grazing  lands  in  the  world.  The 
hills  vary  in  height,  but  seem  to  be  in  two  or  three  series,  all 
of  which  terminate  in  flat  tops.  Before  reaching  the  real  foot 
hills  of  the  mountains,  lumps  of  flat  top  land  rise  up  suddenly 
out  of  the  prairie  to  the  height  of  three  or  four  hundred  feet. 
Their  sides  are  very  steep,  but  covered  with  grass,  and  their 
flat  tops  are  sections  left  of  a  prairie  which  has  been  washed 
away.  The  foot  hills  proper  are  from  1,000  to  1,500  feet  high, 
with  sides  steep,  broken  and  rocky,  but  with  tops  containing 
long  stretches  ot  flat  land,  which,  like  the  smaller  hills  in  the 
lower  prairie,  seem  to  be  what  there  is  left  of  a  still  older 
prairie  washed  away.  'I  do  not  wish  to  surprise  geologists  with 
any  new  theory,  but  they  will  allow  me  to  tell  how  the  hills  look 
to  my  own  eyes.  I  have  another  theory  which,  to  the  naked 
eye  and  clouded  intellect,  looks  quite  reasonable.  Somebody, 
at  some  time  or  other,  not  pleased  with  so  much  flat  land,  went 
below  and  pressed  these  foot  hills  up  out  of  the  prairie,  disturb- 
ing nothing  but  the  edges,  which  were  left  too  steep  to  grass 
over.  However  the  formation  came  about,  the  appearance  ot 
the  country  looks  queer  enough  to  New  England  eyes. 


IN  CIMARRON,  NEW  MEXICO.  47 


Run  No.  8. 


M.  FOLSOM— M.  M.  CHASE— HIS  RANCHES,  PARTNERS  AND  STOCK 
BUSINESS— MANAGER  OF  THE  MAXWELL  CATTLE  COMPANY— CIM- 
ARRON AND  HER  MINISTERS— MAGNIFICENT  DISTANCES— FIRST 
VISIT  TO  A  "ROUND  UP"— A  FLOCK  OF  SHEEP— DINNER  WITH 
THE  MEXICAN  BOY— JOHN  DAWSON'S  HOSPITALITY— FOLSOM  AND 
THE  GOVERNOR  THREATEN  A  FAMINE— MUSIC— HOW  DAWSON'S 
HUNTING  STORIES  AFFECT  THE  GOVERNOR— DAWSON'S  FARM- 
ING AND  STOCK  RAISING— SCENERY— GRADE  AND  CONDITION  OF 
THE  CATTLE. 


Cimarron,  N.  M.,  October  18,  1881. 

On  arriving  here  last  Saturday  evening  we  found  S.  M.  Fol- 
som,  who  left  Lyndonville  three  weeks  ago,  stopping  at  the 
residence  of  M.  M.  Chase,  taking  his  first  lesson  in  cattle  rais- 
ing. Before  embarking  extensively  in  the  cattle  business,  Fol- 
som  concluded  to  devote  a  season  to  learning  the  business,  and 
has  shown  discretion  in  securing  one  of  the  most  successful 
stock  men  in  the  country  for  an  instructor. 

Mr.  Chase  is  a  man  45  years  old,  and  a  border  life  experience 
of  30  years  has  given  him  the  best  qualifications  for  stock  rais- 
ing in  a  new  country.  Mr.  Chase  was  born  in  Wisconsin,  and 
his  father,  W.  C.  Chase,  a  native  of  Bradford,  Vt.,  being  an  ex- 
tensive stock  broker,  put  him  into  the  business  of  handling 
stock  early  in  life.  Before  Colorado  had  made  much  pretension 
as  a  territory  even,  M.  M.  emigrated  to  the  far  West,  and  took 
a  hand  in  corraling  Indians,  hunting  game,  mining,  etc.  His 
business  took  him  over  a  large  part  of  the  country  from  the 


48  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

Black  Hills  to  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  was  engaged  in  the  freighting  business  across  the  Plains, 
from  the  Missouri  River  to  Denver.  Some  15  years  ago,  be- 
ing well  acquainted  with  the  greater  portion  of  the  range  along 
the  foot  hills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  he  selected  Cimarron, 
N.  M.,  as  the  finest  climate  he  knew,  and  as  a  locality  afford- 
ing the  richest  range  and  the  best  shelter  for  cattle.  He  moved 
here,  commenced  to  farm  and  start  his  herd.  From  a  small  be- 
ginning he  has  worked  his  way  up  to  be  the  leading  stock  man  in 
these  parts.  He  has  a  residence  three  miles  from  Cimarron 
village,  in  a  rich  canon,  from  a  half  mile  to  a  mile  wide.  His 
home  place  contains  1,000  acres  of  land.  Here  he  keeps  some 
40  horses,  and  about  300  head  of  cattle.  The  horses  are  de- 
signed mainly  for  his  individual  and  family  driving,  and  the 
cattle  are  the  property  of  his  children,  who  have  them  brand- 
ed with  their  own  marks.  Fifteen  miles  to  the  north  he  and 
two  partners,  named  Dawson  and  Maulding,  have  a  ranch  of 
50,000  acres,  all  inclosed,  about  20  miles  of  it  having  the 
wire  fence  and  15  miles  the  walls  of  mountains.  This  range 
takes  the  natural  drainage  of  the  Vermijo  river,  is  sufficient  for 
3,000  cattle,  and  is  already  stocked  with  a  herd  of  2,500.  This 
range  is  about  half  open  prairie,  the  other  hall"  extending  back 
into  the  foot  hills  which  contain  numerous  canons  and  mesas, 
largely  covered  with  pinon  trees,  forming  the  finest  imagina- 
ble shelter  for  cattle.  The  ranch  is  considered  a  sort  of 
1  ■  home  pasture,"  and  is  about  eight  by  ten  miles  in  extent. 
The  canons  extend  way  back  into  the  foot  hills,  forming  beau- 
tiful parks,  little  and  big,  from  100  to  2000  acres  in  extent, 
dotted  here  and  there  with  the  pinons,  and  are  as  beautiful 
and  romantic  as  it  is  possible  to  form  on  the  bosom  of  Mother 
Earth.  They  are  simply  charming,  and  one  almost  envies 
the  life  of  an  animal  in  the  possession  of  such  homes.  The 
hills  rise  up  suddenly  out  of  the  flat  land  and  terminate  in  flat 
tops,  miles  in  extent  and  rich  in  grazing  capacity.  Though 
very  steep  and  covered  with  pinons,  most  of  their  sides  also 
form  good  grazing. 


IN  CIMARRON,  NEW  MEXICO.  49 

Mr.  Chase  and  his  partner  Dawson  own  a  sheep  ranche  180 
miles  south-east  of  Cimarron,  some  12x15  miles  in  extent, 
which  contains  a  greater  number  of  acres  than  the  "home  pas- 
ture." This  ranch  is  now  stocked  with  15,000  sheep  of  im- 
proved breed. 

With  the  two  partners  above  mentioned,  and  three  others, 
Mr.  Chase  purchased  last  year  a  tract  of  country  150  miles 
south-east  of  Cimarron,  and  just  north  of  the  sheep  ranch, 
embracing  about  60x13  miles  in  extent,  containing  in  round 
numbers  500,000  acres.  This  ranch  is  now  stocked  with 
12,000  cattle,  and  will  range  50,000,  allowing  10  acres  to 
each  animal.  In  ordinary  seasons  this  is  sufficient.  The 
company,  however,  intend  to  allow  the  herd  to  grow,  by  pur- 
chase and  increase,  to  25,000  head,  and  then  make  their  cal- 
culations for  the  future. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  Mr.  Chase  and  his  partner  Daw- 
son, Mr.  Folsom,  and  four  others,  have  purchased  a  tract  of 
about  150,000  acres,  35  miles  south-east  of  Cimarron,  which 
has  not  been  stocked  as  yet,  but  will  be  this  winter  by  purchase 
of  stock  from  Texas.  It  will  range  easily  10,000  to  15,000  head. 
Mr.  Chase  has  the  management  of  these  different  ranges  ;  that 
is,  he  does  the  buying  and  selling,  and  has  general  supervis- 
ion, with  a  boss  on  each  ranch,  to  attend  to  all  details,  such 
as  hiring  the  necessary  help  to  "ride  the  fences" — go  around 
the  range  daily  to  keep  the  fence  in  repair — to  "round  up"  the 
cattle  at  stated  seasons,  to  "cut  out"  beef  to  be  sold,  calves  to 
be  branded,  etc.,  etc.  For  his  supervision  he  gets  a  salary 
from  each  company,  in  addition  to  his  share  in  the  profits. 

In  a  former  letter  I  spoke  of  the  Maxwell  Cattle  Company, 
just  formed  for  the  purpose  of  stocking  all  the  land  in  the 
Maxwell  grant  not  yet  disposed  of,  the  number  of  acres  be- 
ing about  1,700,000.  Mr.  Sherwin,  who  holds  66  percent, 
of  the  stock  in  this  company,  and  about  the  same  of  stock  in 
the  Maxwell  Land  Company,  controls  them  both,  and  will  al- 
low no  more  land  to  be  sold  or  leased  out  of  the  grant,  and 
he  designs  to  have  the  cattle  company  stock  all  the  land  now 
4 


50  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

controlled  by  the  Maxwell  Land  Company.  This  intention 
virtually  puts  an  end  to  the  increase  of  settlements  in  the 
grazing  section  of  the  Maxwell  grant,  and  holds  it  as  a  cattle 
grazing  locality  purely.  Any  future  increase  must  come  from 
the  developments  of  the  gold,  silver,  iron,  copper  and  coal 
mines,  which  are  abundant  in  the  hills.  Mr.  Chase  has  been 
engaged  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  Maxwell  Cattle  Compa- 
ny for  five  years,  receiving  therefor  a  liberal  compensation 
annually,  with  a  promise  of  a  better  situation  at  the  end  of 
that  time.  The  salaries  he  receives  for  the  management  of 
different  companies  will,  if  he  is  prudent,  keep  his  family 
from  starvation.  In  a  subsequent  communication  I  will  give 
particulars  of  the  profits  of  sheep  and  cattle  raising,  from 
which  it  will  appear  that  he  is  in  condition  to  lay  by  some- 
thing for  a  rainy  day. 

Sunday  was  the  first  day  spent  in  Cimarron,  but  it  was  so 
far  gone  when  I  discovered  it,  that  it  was  impossible  to  "ob- 
serve the  Sabbath''  in  the  New  England  way.  As  a  general 
rule,  all  days  are  alike  here.  There  have  been  some  attempts 
to  support  a  minister  in  Cimarron,  and  a  little  house  has  been 
built  for  one  to  expound  his  opinions  in.  But  the  first  minis- 
ter was  shot,  the  second  one  was  put  in  jail,  while  the  third 
one  got  frightened  and  ran  away.  No  man  has  since  ventured 
publicly  to  expound  the  scriptures  to  the  Cimarron  people. 
The  church  has  been  converted  into  a  school  house,  where  it 
is  proposed  to  educate  the  children,  and  let  them  search  the 
scriptures  for  themselves  and  parents. 

This  is  a  country  of  magnificent  distances,  and  I  have  been 
bewildered  ever  since  my  arrival  in  attempting  to  compre- 
hend the  circuit  of  the  neighborhood.  When  M.  M.  invited 
us  to  ride  to  his  pasture,  I  asked  him  where  it  was,  and  he 
said  "over  here  a  little  piece,"  pointing  with  his  finger.  I 
rode  over  with  him,  and  found  it  fifteen  miles  distant.  That 
is  what  they  call  "a  little  piece."  The  next  neighbor  is  usual- 
ly 5  to  10  miles  distant.  Localities  60  and  100  miles  off  are 
spoken  of  with  the  same  neighborly  familiarity  that  a  Lyndon 


IN  CIMARRON,  NEW  MEXICO,  51 

Corner  man  speaks  of  Lyndonville.  This  will  account  for 
the  number  of  horses  all  prominent  ranch  men  keep.  M.  M. 
lives  three  and  one-half  miles  from  the  post-office,  and  has 
the  first  establishment  out  of  the  village.  Twenty  of  his 
horses  are  used  for  his  own  and  family  roadsters,  a  part  for 
odd  jobs  of  teaming,  and  others  are  grazing  on  the  home 
place,  and  getting  on  age  and  condition  for  service.  One  span 
is  used  to-day,  another  to-morrow,  and  so  on. 

On  Monday  last  we  made  our  first  trip  out.  Chase,  Fol- 
som,  the  Governor  and  myself  rode  over  to  H.  M.  Porter's 
pasture,  10  miles  away,  to  witness  a  "round  up."  The  cattle 
in  this  pasture,  about  2,000  in  number,  are  under  the  charge 
of  "cow  boy"  George  M.  Chase,  who  lived  in  Lyndon  some 
30  years  ago.  Realizing  the  profits  of  stock  raising  in  New 
Mexico,  he  came  here  from  Kansas  City  a  year  ago,  and  en- 
gaged as  cow  boy  for  H.  M.  Porter's  herd.  He  determined 
to  learn  the  business  from  the  bottom  up.  The  business  of 
the  cow  boy  is  to  live  on  the  ranch  with  the  cattle,  ride  along 
the  fence  every  day  to  repair  all  breaks,  see  that  the  cattle 
are  kept  within  their  range,  etc.  George's  enclosure  fence 
in  30  miles  in  circumference,  and  he  rides  around  it  on  horse- 
back every  day.  In  addition  to  his  salary  for  service,  he  was 
allowed  to  put  in  a  few  animals  of  his  own.  These  animals 
he  has  just  sold,  nearly  doubling  his  money  inside  of  a  year. 
On  arriving  at  the  pasture  at  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we 
had  several  miles  to  ride  before  reaching  the  locality  of  the 
"round  up."  We  found  the  "bunch,"  having  been  collected — 
"rounded  up" — during  the  day,  by  eight  men  on  horseback. 
A  part  of  the  men  were  riding  round  the  herd,  keeping  them 
"bunched"  up,  while  the  others  were  riding  in  and  driving  out 
of  the  herd  particular  animals  wanted,  and  driving  them 
away  to  some  place  distant  from  the  main  herd,  to  sell,  to 
brand,  or  for  some  other  purpose.  This  process  is  called 
"cutting  out." 

On  Tuesday  the  same  quartette  of  individuals  took  another 
span  of  horses,  and  drove  north  to  Chase's  Vermijo  pasture. 


52  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

On  the  way  we  called  at  a  place  in  the  prairie  where  M.  M. 
and  his  partner  Dawson  have  a  "band  of  sheep/'  2,500  in 
number,  which  had  been  cut  out  of  their  main  flock,  to  send  to 
market.  It  would  surprise  a  Vermont  sheep  raiser  to  see  that 
flock.  Instead  of  a  lot  of  scragly,  bare  bellied,  coarse  made 
sheep,  we  found  a  flock  fat  as  butter,  well  bred,  and  wooled 
down  nearly  to  the  ground.  Some  of  them  were  full  blooded 
Merinos,  and  as  fine  looking  sheep  as  can  be  found  in  the  cel- 
ebrated Vermont  flocks.  The  Governor  is  a  sheep  man,  with 
Merino  proclivities,  and  when  he  said  "By  thunder,  I'm  beat !" 
he  was  evidently  surprised.  He  has  never  seen  2,500  sheep 
together  which  carried  so  much  wool  and  so  much  mutton. 
Persons  who  think  sheep  breeding  and  sheep  raising  in  New 
Mexico  is  hap  hazard  business,  are  mistaken.  The  wool 
men  have  taken  great  pains  with  their  flocks,  and  have  for 
years  past  brought  in  car  load  after  car  load  of  the  best  bucks 
Vermont  and  Ohio  produce.  They  have  paid  high,  even  fan- 
cy, prices  forbucks,  and  the  wisdom  of  this  course  now  ap- 
pears in  the  profits  of  their  flocks.  They  prefer  the  Merino, 
graded  up  from  the  native  Mexican  ewe,  as  it  gives  endur- 
ance and  fine  quality  of  wool.  I  have  not  seen  a  Cotswold 
or  Southdown  in  the  territory. 

At  the  little  tent  on  the  prairie,  miles  from  any  inhabitant, 
we  found  a  Mexican  boy,  a  dozen  years  old,  with  a  skillet 
over  the  fire,  frying  his  dinner.  Chase  pointed  to  the  tent  and 
said,  tCDe  ca pondo  la  sado  qua  lito  bon  decarto"  as  near  as  we 
can  recollect,  and  the  little  fellow  pulled  the  skillet  ofl*  the 
coals,  skipped  into  the  tent  and  brought  out  a  bag,  from 
which  he  pulled  out  a  quarter  of  mutton,  chopped  oft'  a  liber- 
al allowance,  refilled  the  skillet,  and  set  it  on  the  fire.  The 
horses  were  unharnessed  and  allowed  to  graze,  while  we  all 
sat  down  on  the  broad  prairie  and  took  our  first  shepherd 
meal  of  fried  mutton,  biscuit  and  coffee.  But  it  was  good. 
We  could  not  speak  Mexican,  but  we  succeeded  in  making 
the  boy  understand  that  we  knew  how  to  psek  fried  mutton. 
As  he  saw  the  chops  going  down  into  the  provision  cavities 


IN  CIMARRON,  NEW  MEXICO.  53 

of  Folsom  and  the  Governor,  he  looked  alarmed,  and  cast  his 
eyes  towards  that  band  of  2,500  sheep  as  the  only  security 
against  a  famine. 

On  leaving  the  sheep  camp,  a  mile  ride  over  the  prairie 
brought  us  to  the  wire  fence  of  the  "home  pasture" — a  fence 
16  miles  long.  An  opening  was  made  and  we  passed  in,  rode 
two  miles,  and  came  to  the  old  Santa  Fe  station,  now  used  as 
the  home  for  Marion  Littrol,  the  boss  of  the  ranch.  From 
here  we  passed  on  through  the  pasture,  over  lonely  country, 
entered  a  canon  and  passed  up  two  miles,  to  where  the  moun- 
tains draw  together  and  form  a  canon  a  half  mile  wide. 
Here  we  found  the  residence  of  Mr.  Dawson,  a  one  story 
adobe  house  with  adobe  barn  and  adobe  corral.  Half  of  the 
house,  had  been  torn  away  and  an  addition  was  about  to  be 
built,  but  two  or  three  small  rooms  were  left.  Dawson  and 
wife,  seven  children,  the  school  marm,  and  a  visiting  gentle- 
man and  lady  from  Trinidad,  were  the  occupants.  An  addi- 
tion of  four  full  grown  men  to  the  accommodations  at  hand 
might  look  to  the  proprietor  of  an  eastern  mansion  like  crowd- 
ins:  the  mourners.  But  Dawson  said  he  had  lived  in  the  coun- 
try  14  years,  and  had  never  yet  turned  the  first  person  from 
his  doors  on  account  of  no  accommodation.  "You  see  the 
situation,  gentlemen,  and  such  as  it  is  you  are  welcome  to  it." 
After  a  short  call  we  got  up  to  go,  but  were  prevented  by 
Dawson,  who  commenced  to  unharness  the  team.  It  was 
supper  time,  and  all  except  the  children  packed  around  an 
extension  table  in  a  low,  black  kitchen  10  feet  square,  con- 
taining a  cooking  range,  a  dish  cupboard,  and  a  variety  of 
cooking  and  hunting  utensils  which  hung  on  the  wall  and  over- 
head. The  first  appearance  was  not  inviting,  but  I  soon 
learned  not  to  rely  upon  appearances.  No  King  ever  sat 
down  to  better  specimens  of  the  culinary  art.  Steak  as  ten- 
der as  spring  chicken,  biscuits  as  light  as  a  feather,  bread, 
graham  and  white,  entitled  to  a  first  premium  at  the  fair, 
sauce,  preserves,  pickles,  etc.,  flavored  to  suit  the  most  fas- 
tidious palate.     Folsom   claims  to  be  a  dyspeptic,  but  fur- 


54  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

nished  abundant  evidence  on  this  occasion  that  it  is  all  make 
believe.  The  Governor — well,  he  just  mortified  me  to  death. 
I  haven't  looked  at  him  since  without  seeing  bristles.  Folsom 
barely  had  time  to  remark  between  takes,  "Strikes  me  a  man 
has  an  almighty  appetite  out  here ;  owing  to  the  altitude,  I 
s'pose."     The  Governor  was  too  full  for  utterance. 

After  supper  we  all  packed  into  a  room, 
about  12x14,  with  a  fire  place  atone  end, 
crib  in  one  corner,  bed  in  another,  secre- 
tary in  the  third,  while  a  wash  stand  and 
half  a  dozen  chairs  completed  the  outfit. 
It  was  soon  discovered  that  there  was  mu- 
sic in  the  company,  and  a  space  was  clear- 
ed away  in  the  center  of  the  room,  a 
Wood's  organ  brought  from  the  entrv, 
and  the  school  marm,  the  Trinidad  lady 
and  the  subscriber  formed  a  trio  for  the 
execution  of  gospel  hymns.,  which  drew 
forth  rounds  of  applause  from  a  "crowded  house." 

An  experience  meeting  followed,  in  which  Mr.  Dawson 
related  numerous  hair  breadth  escapes  from  wild  beasts  dur- 
ing his  14  years  border  life  in  New  Mexico,  and  prior  to  his 
coming  here.  Having  spent  the  first  thirty  years  of  his  life 
with  the  cattle,  wild  game  and  Indians  of  north-western  Tex- 
as, he  was  well  prepared  for  the  business  and  sports  of  this 
territory.  He  is  a  famous  hunter,  and  his  home  is  never  out 
of  sight  of  big  game.  This  season  he  has  killed  in  this  very 
neighborhood  three  cinnamon  bears,  two  mountain  lions,  sev- 
eral deer,  antelopes,  etc.,  and  has  been  on  a  hunt  but  twice. 
We  intended  to  invite  him  to  accompany  us  a  day  or  two  in 
the  woods,  but  his  building  enterprise  prevented.  Moreover, 
after  he  exhibited  the  skin  of  a  mountain  lion,  nine  feet  from 
tip  to  tip,  with  claws  three  inches  long,  I  noticed  the  Gover- 
nor's hair  rising,  as  he  remarked  that  it  wouldn't  be  conven- 
ient for  him  to  go  hunting  just  now.  He  had  to  go  back  to 
Cimarron  and  write  a  letter.     Folsom  was  as  quiet  as  he  could 


THE  "GOVERNOR' 

AFTER    SUPPER. 


IN  CIMARRON,  NEW  MEXICO.  55 

be,  with  a  chin  going  through  the  motion  of  a  jig  saw,  but  he 
hoped  the  Governor  would  insist  upon  writing  that  letter. 


FOLSOM  AND  THE  "GOVERNOR"  AFTER  SEEING  THE  LION  SKIN. 

PfMr.  Dawson's  home  place  contains  about  1,500  acres  of  ex- 
cellent land,  and,  contrary  to  the  general  rule,  he  does  a  lit- 
tle at  farming,  has  a  variety  of  fruit  trees,  a  garden,  and 
plants  some  corn.  Farming  was  common  here  prior  to  the 
coming  of  the  railroad,  two  years  ago,  as  every  one  then  had 
either  to  raise  his  supplies  or  pay  for  hauling  700  miles  from 
Kansas  City.  But  it  is  different  now.  The  wheat  and  corn 
fields  have  gone  to  weeds.  The  untold  profits  on  stock  rais- 
ing, and  the  ease  with  which  the  work  is  done,  make  the 
profits  of  the  most  successful  farming  appear  like  small  com- 
pensation for  the  labor  performed.  Hence  large  land  holders 
prefer  to  buy  their  supplies,  rather  than  be  troubled  with  till- 
ing the  soil.  Dairying  and  variety  farming  would  pay  better 
here  than  in  Vermont,  but  they  don't  pay  enough  compara- 
tively to  attract  much  attention. 

Mr.  Dawson  keeps  on  the  home  place  a  few  hundred  cattle, 
growing  up  in  the  name  of  his  children,  about  75  horses,  a 


56  THE  EDITOR'S  RUX. 

lot  of  poultry,  and  a  pack  of  nine  hounds,  which  guard  the 
premises,  and  are  always  ready  to  pursue  the  bear,  the  moun- 
tain lion  and  the  deer,  whenever  the  owner  inclines  to  indulge 
in  a  few  days  of  sport.  Dawson  is  an  excellent  specimen  of 
the  pioneer,  open-hearted,  cordial  in  his  welcomes,  fond  of 
company  and  story  telling.  He  has  roughed  it,  pinched  his 
way  along  up  to  the  present  time,  but  now  counts  his  land  by 
the  townships  and  his  cattle  and  sheep  by  the  thousand. 

Notwithstanding  our  "packed"  accommodations,  I  awoke  up 
Wednesday  morning  refreshed  hy  a  good  sleep.  On  our  re- 
turn we  took  a  northern  route  and  rode  15  miles  extra,  through 
the  parks  and  canons  of  the  pasture,  following  an  ad  libitum 
route  over  the  plains,  through  the  pinons,  etc.  It  wa>  a 
most  charming  ride,  and  passed  scenery  which  I  never  saw 
surpassed  away  from  the  Rocky  mountain  range.  We  passed 
bunch  after  bunch  of  the  cattle  grazing  in  the  pasture.  They 
were  not  scrubs,  by  any  means,  but  well  graded  up  with  the 
best  Durham  bulls.  In  this  herd  of  2,500  cattle,  the  three 
years  old  steers  will  average  to  dress  700  pounds,  and  the 
twos  575.  Our  Vermont  stock  men  from  these  figures  can 
form  their  own  estimate  of  the  quality  of  the  herd.  They 
have  our  word  for  it  that  the  average  Vermont  stock  stall 
fed,  will  not  surpass  the  immense  New  Mexican  herds.  It 
costs  money  to  raise  an  ox  in  Vermont,  but  here  he  will  grow 
up  into  fatness  and  money  value  in  spite  of  the  owner's  neg- 
lect. He  will  take  care  of  himself,  and  all  the  owner  has  to 
do  is  to  keep  his  private  mark  on  him  and  keep  track  of  his 
whereabouts. 


IN  EL1ZABETHT0  WN,  NE  W  MEXICO.  57 


Run  No.  9. 


GRAND  SCENERY— DINNER— 8,200  FEET  ABOVE  THE  SEA— OLD  BALDY 
—QUICK  GROWTH,  GREAT  EXPECTATIONS  AND  A  COLLAPSE-^ 
MINING— LONESOME— WEALTH  IN  THE  HILLS. 


Elizabethtown,  N.  M.,  October  22,  1881. 

I  have  gazed  upon  scenery  to-day  which  would  surprise  an 
inhabitant  of  the  White  Mountains,  not  because  of  more 
grandeur,  of  higher  mountains,  etc.,  but  because  the  arrange- 
ment, the  programme  of  sights,  is  wholly  different  from  any- 
thing east  of  this  range  of  mountains. 

At  11  o'clock  this  morning  the  Governor  and  Mr.  Folsom 
in  one  team,  and  Mr.  Chase  and  the  Editor  in  another,  left 
Cimarron  for  this  place,  one  of  the  famous  mining  towns  in 
New  Mexico.  Passing  up  the  Cimarron  canon  for  a  distance 
of  ten  miles  brought  us  to  a  place  where  the  two  ranges  of 
mountains  apparently  come  together ;  in  other  words,  where 
the  prairie,  which  had  crowded  itself  in  between  the  moun- 
tains for  a  distance  of  ten  miles  was  prevented  from  further 
trespass  by  the  mountains  coming  together  at  the  base.  Bear 
in  mind,  reader,  that  these  rocky  mountain  canons  are  not 
like  the  great  ravines  between  the  New  England  Mountains. 
In  New  England  there  is  a  gradual  rise  in  approaching  all 
great  mountains,  and  one  can  scarcely  tell  when  or  where  the 
mountain  begins.  Here,  the  steep  sides  of  the  foot  hills  stop 
short  at  the  bottom,  where  the  flat  prairie  begins  and  stretch- 
es out  one,  two,  three,  or  more  miles  in  width,  and  then  up  go 
the  steep  sides  again,  which  form  the  opposite  range  of  hills. 


58  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

At  the  end  of  the  prairie  strip  we  entered  the  narrow  pass 
between  the  hills,. and  found  scenery  grand  beyond  descrip- 
tion. The  steep  hills  rose  up  on  both  sides  and  in  front  of  us, 
and  it  seemed  all  the  time  as  if  we  had  been  dropped  down 
from  above  into  an  immense  cavity  of  Mother  Earth,  from 
which  there  was  no  escape,  except  on  eagle's  wings.  The 
view  in  front  was  against  the  broad  sides  of  the  great  moun- 
tains, and  there  seemed  to  be  no  possibility  of  further  passage, 
except  over  the  dizzy  peaks.  But  the  road  twisted,  zigzag- 
ged, wormed  around  the  base  of  the  different  hills,  and,  al- 
though we  were  gradually  rising,  scarcely  a  hill  was  encoun- 
tered in  the  highway.  There  is  no  such  mountain  pass  in  the 
East:  In  one  place,  for  an  eighth  of  a  mile  the  wall  of  the 
mountains  rose  up  to  a  heighth  of  800  to  1,000  feet  perpen- 
dicular, or  a  little  more.  Passing  this,  th,e  great  mountains 
rose  up  on  either  side,  with  immense  projecting  rocks,  seem- 
ingly just  ready  to  drop  out  of  position.  Nothing,  but  confi- 
dence in  a  fastening  which  has  resisted  the  storms  of  ages  be- 
yond  historical  knowledge,  gives  the  traveler  in  that  narrow 
pass  a  feeling  of  safety.  In  many  places  columns  of  rocks 
rose  up  independently  to  a  great  height,  resembling  a  village 
of  huge  fantastic  steeples,  some  resting  upon  bases  so  nar- 
row that  a  tumble  might  reasonably  be  expected  at  any  mo- 
ment.    But  they  are  all  there,  and  bound  to  stay. 

At  three  o'clock,  having  grown  hungry  with  riding  and  gaz- 
ing, we  stopped  at  a  clear  stream  in  the  mountain  gorge,  un- 
harnessed and  baited  the  horses,  built  a  fire,  made  coffee,  and 
prepared  a  good  meal  from  the  lunch  box.  New  Mexico  men 
eat  half  their  meals  out  of  doors.  All  the  drives  are  over 
long  distances,  and  the  lunch  box  is  a  most  important  part  of 
the  "outfit."  We  camped  by  a  beautiful  trout  stream,  and, 
being  prepared  with  hooks  and  lines,  1  improved  the  oppor- 
tunity. What  luck?  Well,  I  didn't  count  them.  I  always 
begin  with  "No.  1"  to  count,  and  as  1  didn't  catch  that  partic- 
ular fish  the  enumeration  was  omitted. 

After  washing  dishes  and  repacking,  the  journey  was  re- 


1A7  ELIZABETHTOWN,  NEW  MEXICO.  59 

sumcd.  Having  passed  through  ten  miles  of  the  finest  moun- 
tain scenery  out  of  doors,  we  emerged  into. a  "park,""  as  it  is 
called  here,  1,800  feet  above  the  open  prairie,  and  8,000  feet 
above  the  sea  level.  Seven  miles  further  brought  us  to  Eliz- 
abethtown. 

Elizabethtown  is  8,200  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  1,800 
feet  above  Cimarron.  If  the  reader  will  recall  the  fact  that 
Mount  Washington  is  only  between  5,000  and  6,000  feet  above 
the  sea  level,  he  will  realize  that  the  Editor  is  considerably 
nearer  heaven  at  this  present  time  than  when  perambulating 
the  Passumpsic  valley,  striving  to  raise  the  standard  of  mo- 
rality in  Caledonia  county  through  the  medium  of  the  Union. 
Elizabethtown  village  is  not  quite  on  mountain  tops,  but  is  at 
the  end  of  a  basin  or  park  10  by  30  miles  in  extent,  formed 
very  near  the  tops,  with  "Old  Baldy,"  the  prominent  point  in 
front  of  it.  Baldy  is  12,000  feet  above  the  sea,  5,000  feet 
above  its  eastern  base  and  about  4,000  feet  above  Elizabeth- 
town,  at  its  western  base.  Timber  ceases  to  grow  in  this 
country  at  an  elevation  of  11,000  feet,  consequently  1,000 
feet  of  the  old  mountain's  top  is  bare  headed,  and  hence  the 
name  "Baldy."  The  old  head  is  a  landmark,  a  geography 
indicator  for  people  far  and  near. 

In  1867  a  party  of  hunters  discovered  gold  here,  gave  the 
alarm,  and  in  less  than  two  years  there  was  a  population  of 
4,000  people  packed  here  in  the  mountain,  28  miles  from  Ci- 
marron on  the  east,  and  40  miles  from  Taos  on  the  west.  It 
sprung  up  at  once  into  a  city  of  "great  expectations."  A  com- 
pany was  formed  which  dug  a  ditch  42  miles  long,  at  an  ex- 
pense of  $200,000,  and  brought  water  from  the  Red  river. 
This  was  the  only  stream  available  for  washing  the  gold  out 
of  the  hills,  and  in  a  short  time  it  was  discovered  that  it  was 
not  sufficient  for  a  quarter  of  the  miners.  The  boom  was  in 
1869-70,  and  during  those  years  Elizabethtown  was  built. 
Five  miles  below  Virginia  City  was  started,  where  a  dozen  or 
fifteen  houses  went  up  in  haste,  and  as  hastily  came  down  the 
next  year.     We  passed  through  Main  street,  but  there  was 


60  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

nothing  there  to  mark  the  former  existence  of  a  village,  ex- 
cept one  slight  depression  in  the  prairie  turf,  where  some  as- 
piring candidate  for  worldly  wealth  had  improvised  a  cellar. 
Not  a  post,  or  a  stick,  or  a  stone  could  we  see  in  the  once 
hopeful  Virginia  City  ;  nothing  but  prairie  grass  and  stillness. 
In  1871  houses  began  to  disappear  from  Elizabethtown,  and 
in  a  year  or  two  the  village  of  2,000  people,  and  surround- 
ings of  2,000  more,  dwindled  to  as  many  hundred.  An  Irish- 
man, named  Lynch,  managed  to  secure  possession  of  the  water 
ditch  for  $12,000,  and  has  continued  mining  ever  since.  His 
worth  is  variously  estimated  from  $50,000  to  $1,500\000.  We 
visited  his  works,  kw  the  operation  of  gulch  mining,  and 
the  Irishman  who  owns  the  mine,  who  talks  and  looks  like 
any  other  Irishman. 

I  asked  one  of  the  men  to  show  us  a  specimen  of  the  gold. 
He  went  several  rods  down  the  ditch,  took  a  shovel  full 
of  dirt  from  the  bottom,  and  in  five  minutes  had  washed 
away  the  earth,  leaving  on  the  shovel  part  of  a  spoonful  of 
fine  sand  and  yellow  dust.  "How  much  is  that  worth  ?"  I  asked. 
After  a  close  inspection,  he  said,  "About  one  dollar,  sir."  I 
told  him  I  was  a  stranger  in  those  parts,  and  would  like  to 
take  it  away  as  a  specimen.  "And  faith,"  said  he,  "it  is  not 
mine  to  give  ;  the  boss  is  very  particular."  He  laid  the  shov- 
el down  carefully,  and  while  he  was  answering  some  foolish 
questions,  put  by  Folsom  and  the  Governor,  the  dust  was 
blown  away.  If  the  reader  will  call  at  my  office  next  month 
I  will  show  it  to  him. 

There  are  several  others  mining  in  a  small  way  in  this  local- 
ity, all  doing  well,  but  no  extravagant  stories  are  told.  The 
work  pays  well,  probably  $5  to  $10  a  day  for  a  man's  work. 
The  "pay  streak"  is  found  several  feet  under  the  surface,  which 
makes  a  great  amount  of  washing  necessary  to  obtain  a  little 
gold.  A  large  surface  of  country  has  been  washed  off;  a 
few  years  ,  ago  several  parties  made  small  fortunes  in  a  short 
time,  and  with  little  water.  These  were  in  places  where  the 
gold  was'  found  for  quite  a  distance  near  the  surface. 


IN  ELIZABETHTOWN,  NEW  MEXICO.  61 

Readers  who  saw  the  operation  of  washing  away  the  Bag- 
ley  hill  in  St.  Johnsbury,  saw  a  perfect  illustration  of  gulch 
mining.  The  hill  is  torn  away  by  the  force  of  a  stream  from 
a  two  inch  pipe.  A  wooden  sluiceway  conducts  the  water 
and  dirt  down  the  incline  plane  as  far  as  needed,  while  men 
are  stationed  along  to  pick  out  the  stones.  Blocks  of  wood 
are  fitted  into  the  sluiceway,  and  on  these  blocks  quicksilver 
is  poured,  which  stops  the  little  particles  of  gold.  After  the 
operation  of  washing  has  continued  a  week  or  two,  the  nozzle 
man  takes  a  rest  while  the  stone  pickers  shovel  the  loose  dirt 
from  the  sluiceway,  remove  the  blocks,  shovel  up  the  depos- 
it, wash  away  the  dirt  mixture  ;  then  the  owner  boxes  his 
gold,  and  the  operation  of  washing  is  renewed.  When  the 
Lynch  mine  was  started  the  pay  streak  was  but  a  few  inches 
from  the  surface,  the  washing  was  easy,  and  the  mine  conse- 
quently paid  splendidly.  Now  the  mines  have  got  so  far 
back  into  the  hill  that  the  pay  dirt  is  ten  feet  below  the  sur- 
face, and  the  profits  are  much  less.  Another  process  of  min- 
ing consists  in  tunneling  down  to  the  pay  streak,  which  is 
shoveled  up,  taken  to  the  smelters,  where  it  is  assayed  and 
sold  by  the  ton,  priced  according  to  the  assay.  When  the 
precious  metal  is  found  in  the  rock,  it  is  blasted,  broken  up, 
passed  through  the  crushers,  and  then  under  the  stamp  mill, 
after  which  the  dust  is  washed  from  the  metal. 

Our  hotel  accommodations  at  Elizabethtown 
were  first  rate.  The  ground  floor  of  the  building 
contained  two  rooms,  a  kitchen  in  the  rear,  and  a 
combination  dining-room,  bar-room  and  post-office 
in  front.  But  the  beds  were  good,  and  the  land- 
lord, Story,  an  American,  had  a  German  wife 
who  knew  how  to  cook.  Folsoni  was  obliged  to 
allude  to  the  altitude  again,  as  an  excuse  for  that 
appetite.  I  can't  make  it  seem  as  if  that  boy 
was  ever  troubled  with  dyspepsia  or  any  other 
ailment,  but  he  intimates  that  he  is  out  here  for 
vol  his  health. 

HIS  HEALTH." 


62  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

It  makes  one  lonesome  to  walk  the  streets  of  Elizabeth- 
town.  Although  not  an  old  place,  it  is  deserted  and,  instead 
of  the  crowded  street,  or  crowded  houses,  rum  shops,  gam- 
bling saloons,  and  hourly  knock  downs  of  a  few  years  ago,  a 
sort  of  grave  yard  stillness,  deserted  buildings,  and  a  general 
tumble  down  appearance  is  everywhere  observed.  There  is 
one  store,  part  of  another,  hotel,  the  tail  end  of  a  barber  shop, 
the  outside  of  a  Catholic  church,  or  barn,  a  good  deal  of  broken 
glass,  and  other  fragments  of  former  prosperity  left,  but  the 
pith,  the  vitality  of  village  life  has  departed,  no  more  to  re- 
turn, unless  more  water  is  brought 'from  Red  river,  or  some 
large  companies  are  formed  to  begin  pounding  up  the  quartz 
rocks  by  steam. 

There  is  vast  wealth  in  the  surrounding  mountains  and  spec- 
imens of  rich  ore  are  found  in  numerous  places.  The  little 
village  lives  on,  hoping  for  the  start  of  enterprises  which  she 
is  sure  will  pay.  Mining  is  her  only  hope  of  existence,  and 
this  hope  is  strengthened  by  the  success  of  mining  in  various 
localities  in  these  hills.  All  through  the  hills  of  Colorado  and 
New  Mexico  rich  leads  have  been  found,  and  are  being  worked  ; 
men  are  growing  rapidly  rich,  and  villages  are  springing  up 
everywhere.  Evidently  the  mining  business  here  has  scarce- 
ly commenced,  for  there  is  no  end  to  the  wealth  the  hills  con- 
tain. 


IN  TAOS,  NEW  MEXICO. 


Run  No.  10. 


PRAIRIE  DOGS— PINE  FORESTS— KENEDY'S  HABITATION,  CRIME  AND 
EXIT— io.ooo  FEET  ABOVE  SEA  LEVEL— THE  LUNCH  BOX— MOUN- 
TAIN PARKS— TAOS  VALLEY— NEW  MEXICO  DISTANCES— THE  MEX- 
ICAN'S ORIGIN— DESCRIPTION  OF  TAOS  ATTEMPTED— THE  MEXI- 
CAN HOUSE— THE  PLAIN— THE  OVEN— DIBBLES  AND  DIET- 
CHURCHES  AND  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS— THE  POST  OFFICE- 
FARMING  AND  FARM  IMPLEMENTS— A  COURT  SCENE— KIT  CAR- 
SON'S OLD  HOME  AND  GRAVE. 


Taos,  N.  M.,  October  23,  1881. 

We  left  the  deserted  village  at  9  o'clock  this  morning,  and 
had  traveled  but  a  mile  or  two  when  three  prairie  wolves, 
cayotes,  crossed  the  road  100  rods  ahead  of  us,  and  scampered 
up  the  prairie  slope.  M.  M.  had  his  trusty  "sharp"  and  followed 
them  with  a  shower  of  lead,  but  those  are  good  wolves  yet. 

Soon  after  this,  we  struck  a  locality  of  prairie  dogs.  Hav- 
ing a  good  shot  gun,  I  peppered  them  from  the  buggy  ad  lib- 
itum. They  were  in  sight  nearly  all  the  time,  during  a  ride 
of  20  miles  across  the  park.  I  have  no  idea  how  many  we 
killed  with  the  rifle  and  shot  gun.  We  used  one  or  the  other 
according  to  distance.  I  ought  to  have  gathered  a  few  tails  to 
take  home,  and  should,  only  every  dog  took  his  tail  into  the 
hole  with  him.  Several  of  them  left  bowels,  and  other  unde- 
sirable parts  of  prairie  dog  anatomy,  where  they  sat  as  a 
target.  But  they  all  got  away  with  their  tails.  Prairie  dogs 
always  intend  to  "decease"  at  home.  You  may  blow  one  into 
pieces,  and  he  will  take  the  remains  home  to  the  bosom  of 


64  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

his  family.  These  little  fellows,  less  than  half  the  size  of 
woodchucks,  are  cunning  to  behold,  but  are  great  nuisances 
to  the  prairie  farmer.  They  are  gregarious,  live  in  villages, 
and  from  25  to  2,500  holes  are  found  in  one  locality.  The 
ride  of  twenty  miles  this  morning  was  one  continuous  stretch 
of  little  mounds  of  dirt  thrown  up  by  the  dogs. 

The  scenery  down  the  west  side  of  the  park  was  delightful. 
The  western  slope  of  the  hill  is  gradual,  and  covered  with 
great  pines,  far  enough  apart  to  admit  of  driving  anywhere 
among  them.  We  passed  pine  trees  enough  to-day  to  supply 
the  wants  of  all  New  Mexico  for  years  to  come,  and  what  we 
saw  is  but  a  drop  in  the  bucket,  as  innumerable  acres  of  the 
hills  are  covered  with  them.  Many  men  are  poor  to-day  who 
will  soon  be  made  rich  from  manufacturing  these  pines  into 
building  lumber.  The  demand  is  not  yet  sufficient  to  war- 
rant the  erection  of  many  mills,  but  the  enterprising  lumber 
men,  who  see  a  little  way  in.  the  future,  secure  lumber  tracts, 
and  get  ready  for  the  call  soon  to  be  made,  will  be  in  luck, 
so  far  as  worldly  possessions  are  concerned. 

Twenty  miles  from  Elizabethtown  we  turned  to  the  right,  to 
enter  the  box  canon  (mountain  gorge)  leading  over  into  Taos 
valley.  At  the  foot  of  this  gorge  stands  the  stone  lire  place 
of  the  notorious  Kenedy  House.  In  1868  one  Kenedy  kept 
a  log  house  here,  20  miles  from  any  other  habitation.  He 
had  a  Mexican  mistress  and  one  child.  People  were  fre- 
quently missing  about  those  times,  but  no  one  knew  what  be- 
came of  them..  A  brother  of  an  ex-Governor  of  Kansas,  be- 
ing missed,  was  traced  to  Elizabethtown,  from  whence  he 
started  for  Taos.  This  was  the  last  trace.  Suspicion  fell 
upon  Kenedy.  He  had  kept  his  Mexican  at  home,  never  al- 
lowing her  to  go  away,  and  threatening  to  kill  her  if  she 
went.  He  was  making  arrangements  to  kill  the  child,  now 
old  enough  to  tell  tales,  when  the  mother  made  her  escape  to 
Elizabethtown,  and  told  of  several  travelers  stopping  at  his 
house  whom  Kenedy  had  killed  for  their  money,  and  buried 
under  the  house,  and  in   other  places  near  by.     Kenedy  was 


IN  TA  OS,  NE  W  MEXICO.  65 

arrested,  and  the  ex-Governor's  brother  was  dug  up  from  be- 
neath the  fire-place  hearth.  Other  bodies  were  found  in  the 
vicinity.  Kenedy  was  taken  before  the  court,  and  the  peo- 
ple demanded  his  trial,  but  the  Judge,  probably  in  sympathy 
with  the  disorder  of  those  times,  had  the  case  put  over  to 
next  term,  when  the  crowd  took  him  out  before  the  Court 
House  and  strung  him  up.  The  Judge  appeared  just  as  the 
culprit  dropped  and  commanded  that  his  body  be  instantly 
cut  down,  but  a  couple  of  well  known  citizens  stepped  up  to 
the  Judge,  pointed  their  revolvers  in  his  face,  and  asked  him 
if  he  would  be  kind  enough  to  "Git !"  He  complied  with  the 
request,  taking  the  direction  of  the  Court  House,  with  his 
coat  tails  in  a  horizontal  position.  That  is  the  way  they  ex- 
ecuted justice  in  New  Mexico  when  the  evidence  was  positive 
and  the  Court  uncertain.  The  plea  of  insanity  did  not  have  the 
usual  chance. 

From  the  Kenedy  place  we  entered  the  box  canon,  and,  be- 
tween the  great  mountains,  passed  up  the  first  great  hill  since 
leaving  Cimarron.  It  was  a  mile  and  a  half  long,  steep  and 
rough.  At  the  top  of  this  "divide"  we  were  about  10,000  feet 
above  sea  level.  From  here  begins  the  descent  into  Taos  Val- 
ley. Two  miles  from  the  top  we  came  to  a  clear  stream, 
pitched  camp,  drew  out  the  lunch  box,  built  a  fire,  and  got 
dinner.  We  had  graham  bread,  white  biscuit,  cold  meat, 
pickles,  plum  preserves,  canned  peaches,  tea  and  coifee,  to 
say  nothing  about  forest  leaves,  ashes,  road  dust,  etc.  There 
was  no  dyspepsia  around  that  festive  board.  After  an  hour's 
rest  for  the  teams,  the  journey  was  resumed  down  a  very 
gradual  descent  between  the  big  mountains,  and  at  14  miles 
from  the  top  we  emerged  into  the  Taos  Valley.  This  is  a 
plain,  a  prairie  in  fact,  up  in  the  mountains,  about  1,000  feet 
higher  than  the  open  prairie  at  Cimarron. 

I  begin  to  see  now  what  they  mean  by   "beautiful   parks," 

wedged  in  among  the  Rocky  Mountain  foot  hills.     We  passed 

over  one  range  and  came  to  the  park,  15x30  miles  in  extent, 

in  which  Elizabethtown  is  located.     Over  the  next  range — 16 

5 


66  THE  EDITOR*  111    V 

miles  through  the  gorge — we  came  to  the  next  park,  or  Taos 
Valley,  80 or  30  miles  wide,  and  perhaps  SO  or  more  long,  and 
nearly  flat.  Away  in  the  distance,  as  tar  as  the  eve  can  reach 
in  every  direction,  we  see  the  great  foot  hills  rise  op  which 
mark  its  boundary.  In  many  places  in  the  mountains  these 
parks  contain  hut  a  tew  hundred  acres,  hut  they  are  rich  in 
grazing  and  tillage,  and  form  the  most  lovely  retreats  imag- 
inahle. 

A-  we  emerged  from  the  hills.  1  called  the  attention  of  M. 
M.  to  ''that  smoke  a  a  half  mile  distant"  on  the  prairie.  "That 
i>  Taos,'1  said  he  *and  your  half  mile  is  three  miles,  at  least." 
lie  was  correct,  tor  it  took  a  full  half  hour  of  smart  trotting 
to  pass  oyer  my  half  mile.  I  have  done  guessing  at  distances 
ami  making  a  tool  o\  myself  for  the  edification  of  the  New 
Mexicans.  Stretch  imagination  to  the  utmost,  open  wide  the 
balk  head  of  Vermont  Union  exaggeration,  and  it  never  reach- 
es the  reality  o\'  New  Mexico  distances.  It  takes  a  smart 
ttorse  an  hour  to  travel  one  o(  my  miles,  and  ten  miles  is  a 
day's  journey.  Foleom  thinks  "altitude"  is  what  ails  his  ap- 
petite. Maybe  it  has  something  to  do  with  my  judgment  of 
distances,  hut  [attribute  it  to  the  fact  that  the  country  here- 
abouts is  formed  on  a  scale  o\'  immense  magnitude,  oi"  Ions 
Stretching  prairie.  o\"  mountains,  and  canons  or  valleys  between 
them,  all  being  two  or  three  times  as  targe  as  the  New  Bng- 
land  eye.  familiar  with  huddled  up  scenery,  takes  them  to  be. 

1  do  not  know  or  care,  for  that  matter,  when  Taos  Valley 
was  settled.  Nobody  here  knows  anything  about  it.  But  it 
was  among  the  tirst  settlements  in  the  country.  The  Span- 
iards conquered  New  Mexico  in  1580,  at  which  time  the  de- 
scendants o(  the  Aztecs  were  in  this  valley,  but  how  long  they 
had  been   here  no  one  knows  certain. 

The  common  Mexican  seems  to  be  a  cross  between  a  negro 

and  an  Indian,    lighter  than    a    negro,  darker  than  an  Indian. 

- 

and  dirtier,  looser,  more  shiftless  and  unreliable  than  either. 
Don't  stop  to  hunt  up  any  element  of  progress  in  the  average 
Mexican.      It  is  a  waste  o{  time.     Thev  live  as  thev  lived  him- 


IN  TA  OS,  NE  W  MEXICO.  67 

dreds  of  years  ago,  and  with  evidences  of  progress  right  in 
sight  of  them  they  take  on  none  of  its  spirit. 

Taos  (pronounce  here  Tons)  is  purely  a  Mexican  village. 
But  how  shall  I  describe  Taos  so  the  reader  can  see  it?  Im- 
agine a  village,  say  of  1,000  population,  with  every  house 
built  on  the  top  of  a  mud  basement,  seven  feet  high.  Then 
imagine  a  cyclone  has  passed  over  that  village,  and  carried 
away  every  building,  leaving  nothing  but  the  basements  in 
sight,  and  you  have  the  Taos  mud-boxes.  That  is  the  style  of 
Taos  architecture,  and  these  boxes  are  dropped  down  at  ran- 
dom on  the  ground,  leaving  the  pedestrian  to  pick  his  way 
around  as  he  pleases.  The  unoccupied  space  he  may  call 
street,  square,  alley  or  section  of  tramped  prairie.  One  would 
be  as  proper  as  the  other.  In  the  center  is  a  little  plaza — a 
half  acre — around  which  are  the  stores.  And  such  stores — 
dark,  dingy,  dirty  floors,  worn  clear  through,  and  goods 
tumbled  up  and  uninviting.  They  have  a  remarkable  similar- 
ity, and  there  are  but  one  or  two  around  the  whole  square  that 
do  not  have  a  corner  for  the  bar  and  liquor.  Many  of  the 
houses  have  yards,  or  corrals,  fenced  in  with  mud  walls,  six  to 
seven  feet  high,  and  two  feet  thick.  In  Taos  it  is  difficult  for 
a  New  England  man  to  realize  that  he  is  in  a  village.  The 
prevailing  feeling  is  that  of  being  confined  by  a  mud  wall.  In 
the  houses  he  cannot  avoid  the  idea  of  a  dungeon.  The  doors 
are  set  in  two  feet,  flush  with  the  inner  wall,  and  the  windows 
are  set  out  the  same  distance,  flush  with  the  outer  wall.  But 
few  of  the  inside  doors  are  six  feet  high.  I  was  reminded  of 
that  several  times,  but  the  reminders  did  not  seem  to  damage 
the  adobe  wall  in  the  least.  Most  of  the  rooms  in  town  have 
ground  floors,  and  many  of  them  are  covered  with  tapestry 
carpet.  But  the  ground  is  always  dry,  and  as  hard  as  stone. 
Stoves  are  not  used,  but  every  house  is  supplied  with  fire- 
places, usually  in  the  corner  of  the  rooms.  The  rooms  are  un- 
finished overhead,  for  the  most  part,  though  some  have  paper, 
made  for  the  purpose,  tacked  on  the  upper  ceiling,  to  cover 
the  beams.     The  roofs  are  made  by  laying  down  poles,  nail- 


68  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

ing,  and  then  covering  with  a  foot  deep  of  adobe  mud,  which 
dries  hard,  and  sheds  the  rain.  A  leak  calls  for  more  mud,  noth- 
ing more.  The  plaza,  or  square,  is  common  to  all  Mexican  towns. 
Its  origin  was  owing  to  a  necessity.  It  was  a  place  for  com- 
mon defence  against  Indians  or  other  plunderers.  Here  in 
times  of  threatened  danger  the  Mexicans  would  collect  their 
families  and  stock,  and  prepare  to  defend  their  lives  and  prop- 
erty. Outside  of  the  plaza  no  order  or  system  was  observed 
in  building. 

Every  Mexican  mud  house  has  its  accompanying  oven, 
built  near  by,  and  in  the  shape  of  an  old-fashioned  straw  bee- 
hive. It  varies  in  size,  from  three  to  six  feet  high,  has  a  wall 
about  a  foot  thick,  with  a  little  hole  in  it  on  a  level  with  the 
floor.  They  build  afire  in  the  oven,  heat  it  sufficiently  hot, 
SAveep  out  the  lire,  put  in  the  bread,  mud  up  the  hole,  and  go 
off  and  leave  it  till  they  want  the  bread,  when  they  find  it 
ready  for  them. 


tire 

MEXICAN  h  OVEN. 


We  stopped  at  Dibble's  hotel,  had  a  good  room  on  a  mud 
floor,  with  a  tapestry  carpet,  bright  fire  in  the  wall,  etc.  But 
Dibble's  table  was  too  Mexican.  One  never  would  starve  to 
death  there,  and  never  would  injure  himself  by  over  eating. 
For  people  suffering  from  dyspepsia  and  other  results  of  over 
eating,  1  recommend  the  Dibble's  diet,  at  $3  a  day.  I  advised 
Folsom  and  the  Governor  to  tarry  a  week  here,  and  give  the 
stomach  a  rest.  But  they  seemed  determined  to  kill  themselves 
and  would  not  stay.  Dibble  is  from  Connecticut,  came  to  this 
place  20  years  ago,  lives  with  a  Mexican  woman,  and  seems  to 
be  contented  way  up  here  in  the  mountains,  living  with  the 
Mexicans,  and  with  only  occasional  intercourse  with  white 
beings. 


JAT  TA  OS,  NE  W  MEXICO.  69 

There  are  two  mud  churches  (Catholic)  in  the  village,  both 
with  mud  floors,  and  without  seats  of  any  description.  I  could 
not  learn  when  they  were  shoveled  up  into  meeting  house  form, 
but  it  was  done  a  great  many  years  ago,  by  the  forefathers  of 
the  present  swarthy  worshipers.  The  worshipers  drop  down 
on  the  ground,  a  tew  perhaps  with  a  sheep  skin  or  blanket  un- 
der them,  and  there  worship  God  in  native  simplicity,  and  ex- 
actly as  the  priest  tells  them  to.  But  there  is  not  much  wor- 
ship of  any  kind  going  on  in  Taos.  At  the  time  of  our  visit, 
one  of  the  churches  was  undergoing  repairs.  Perhaps  it  was 
the  annual  house-cleaning.  Who  knows  ?  Let  me  describe 
it.  As  we  passed  through  a  gate  in  the  mud  wall,  enclosing  a 
yard  a  hundred  feet  square,  we  found  two  men,  with  trowsers 
legs  rolled  up  to  the  thighs,  treading  mud  in  a  little  depression 
which  had  been  made  in  the  ground.  One  man  was  passing  in 
soil,  another  straw,  and  a  third  supplied  the  water.  The  three 
materials,  under  the  active  gait  of  the  treaders,  made  mortar, 
which  two  women  were  carrying  into  the  church  in  wooden 
buckets.  They  were  not  clean,  tidy,  attractive-looking  females, 
but  I  followed  them,  nevertheless,  and  saw  them  deliver  their 
mud  to  a  master  mason,  who  was  on  all  fours,  spreading  the 
material  into  the  form  of  a  new  floor,  which  would  be  ready  for 
use  in  twenty-four  hours.  This  was  a  very  simple,  inexpen- 
sive method  of  church  repairs.  The  white  washing  was  equal- 
ly inexpensive,  it  being  done  by  digging  white  clay  found  in 
the  hills,  dissolving  it  in  water,  and  spreading  it  upon  the 
walls  with  cloths.  The  inside  of  the  church  resembles  an  ex- 
cavation in  a  hill,  nothing  being  visible  but  earth,  except  the 
big  beams  laid  overhead,  from  side  to  side,  for  the  support  of 
the  mud  which  forms  the  roof. 

There  is  a  school  in  the  place,  so  Dibble  thinks,  though  he  is 
not  quite  sure  about  it,  but  not  ten  per  cent,  of  the  natives  can 
read  or  write.  There  is  no  public  library,  no  public  hall  or 
entertainments,  no  fire  protection — but  they  couldn't  burn  up, 
any  way — no  water  works,  and  no  public  works  of  any  descrip- 
tion. There  is  no  newspaper,  no  public  spirit,  no  attempt  at 
or  thought  of  such  a  thing ;  no  society,  except  what  a  drifting 


70  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

existence  and  a  common  language  would  naturally  make,  no 
talk  or  thought  of  refinement,  elevation,  progress  or  improve- 
ment in  any  direction.  All  the  general  crowd  think  or  care 
about,  is  to  live  along  just  as  they  have  from  time  immemorial, 
and  when  a  chimney  tumbles  over,  or  one  end  of  a  house  caves 
in,  they  dig  a  little  more  dirt,  mud  it  up  again,  and  lie  down. 
I  never  "struck,"  as  they  sa}T  here,  just  such  a  place,  and  am 
not  sufficiently  impressed  to  invest  in  corner  lots.  I  could  not 
find  the  corners,  if  I  was. 

The  post  office  precinct  contains  some  2,000  or  3,000  people, 
and  not  one  in  ten  of  them  know  or  care  where  the  post  office 
is.  The  largest  list  of  papers  is  a  weekly  from  Vegas,  and  does 
not  exceed  twenty.  The  office  is  worth  $22  a  month,  as  ap- 
pears by  cancellation  of  stamps,  and  this  comes  mainly  from 
about  fifty  Americans  who  reside  in  the  place. 

The  Valley  contains  about  10,000  people  and  a  half  dozen 
villages,  of  which  the  one  described  is  a  sample,  and  the  most 
important.  The  land  is  rich,  and  has  been  farmed  a  hundred 
years  or  more  without  manure,  irrigation  being  the  only  reli- 
ance for  fertility. 

Every  field  is  ditched  into  small  patches,  and  at  certain  sea- 
sons the  water  is  let  in  to  flood  it.  There  is  no  reliance  upon 
rain,  and  without  irrigation  nothing  could  be  raised.  The  na- 
tives raise  some  stock,  but  the  locality  is  not  the  most  favora- 
ble for  grazing.  Goats  are  common,  and  many  of  the  Mexicans 
keep  from  ten  to  one  hundred,  relying  upon  them  for  milk  and 
meat.  It  is  interesting  to  see  a  Mexican  woman  move  around 
among  her  goats  with  cream  pitcher  in  hand,  crawl  under  their 
tails,  and  strip  a  spoonful  from  each  to  serve  up  for  breakfast. 

Farming  implements  are  the  same  they  were  one  hundred 
years  ago.  A  long  pole,  with  a  root  for  a  plow  point  and  a 
couple  of  sticks  nailed  on  for  handles,  does  all  the  tearing  up  of 
the  soil.  Grain  is  reaped  or  mown,  and  threshed  by  goats 
or  horses  in  the  field.  This  is  done  by  staking  out  a  round 
space  on  the  ground,  into  which  the  grain  is  pitched,  and  the 
animals  turned  in.  There  is  a  little  one-story  log  mill  in  the 
place,  twelve  feet  square,  and  less  than  six  feet  high,  which 


IN  TAOS,  NEW  MEXICO. 


71 


grinds  very  slowly.  But  Mexicans  do  not  like  to  pay  toll,  and 
nine-tenths  of  them  grind  their  grain  between  two  stones,  mak- 
ing only  enough  at  a  time  for  a  day's  use.  Think  of  that  for 
enterprise  in  this  nineteenth  century. 


MEXICAN  PLOW  TEAM. 

While  the  Governor  was  intently  observing  the  habits  of 
Mexican  women  in  the  street,  Folsom  and  1  attended  a  court 
scene  which  we  shall  not  soon  forget.  A  half  dozen  Mexicans 
had  been  shot  two  evenings  betore  our  arrival,  one  of  whom 
had  died,  and  the  offenders  were  up  before  the  alcalde,  (justice 
of  the  peace),  the  principal  judiciary  of  the  city.  He  could 
speak  a  little  English,  and  we  got  the  particulars  from  him  be- 
fore the  trial.  The  court  was  in  one  of  those  mud-rooms — 
dungeons — with  the  light  from  a  low  door  and  six  panes  of 
glass.  The  alcalde  was  in  a  pair  of  trowsers,  a  woolen  shirt, 
and  a  pair  of  cow  hides,  and  looked  as  if  he  had  just  been 
pulled  out  of  an  adobe  bank.  The  bar  was  out  of  the  same 
bank,  apparently,  and  the  spectators  from  a  position  in  the  mud 
a  little  below  them.  It  was  a  queer-looking  scene,  but  we  had 
not  euough  of  the  language  to  understand  the  argument,  and 
how  the  scene  ended  we  know  not.  The  man,  who  acted  as 
lawyer  for  the  defence  assured  me  that  he  had  "got  'em"  on 
some  technicality  of  law,  and  so  we  suppose  the  criminals  got 
clear.  But  it  is  all  the  same.  It  wouldn't  be  quite  the  thing 
to  hang  a  half  dozen  Taos  Mexicans,  and  slight  the  rest  of 
them. 

Taos  was  the  home  of  the  famous  mountain  guide,  Kit  Car- 


n  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

son.  Here,  in  a  little  neglected  grave  yard,  surrounded  by  a 
mud  wall,  lie  his  remains,  beside  those  of  his  wife.  A  little 
wooden  railing  surrounds  the  graves,  but  no  headstones  mark 
the  name,  birth  and  death  of  the  famous  little  man.  We  visited 
his  house,  which,  like  all  other  Taos  houses,  is  alow  mud  struc- 
ture, with  good-sized  rooms,  mud  floors,  etc.  But  Kit  had  the 
comfort  of  a  wooden  piazza  on  the  front  of  his  house,  which 
gives  it  a  prominent  distinction  from  others  in  the  village.  It 
stands  here  precisely  as  he  left  it.  Kit  was  a  popular  man  with 
the  Taos  people,  and  the  Indians  believed  he  was  a  little  on  the 
supernatural  order. 


IN  PUEBLO,  INDIAN  VILLAGE.  73 


Run  No.  11. 


THE  PUEBLO  INDIANS— PUEBLO  STYLE  OF  ARCHITECTURE— THE  OLD 
CHURCH— A  MASSACRE— DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  CHURCH— CHAR- 
ACTER OF  THE  PUEBLOS— VISIT  TO  ONE  OF  THE  FAMILIES— HOW 
THE  PUEBLO  MAIDEN  EXPRESSED  HER  OPINION  OF  THE  SITUA- 
TION—FIRE OF  THE  MONTEZUMAS— THE  HOT  SPRINGS  AND  VI- 
CINITY RUINS— THE  AZTECS— THE  TOLTECS— CLIFF  DWELLINGS. 


Pueblo,  Indian  Village,  October  24,  1881. 

This  little  village  is  three  miles  from  Taos,  just  at  the  foot 
of  the  big  mountains,  and  how  long  it  has  been  there  nobody 
knows.  The  Pueblos  were  in  the  Taos  Valley  as  long  ago  as 
we  have  any  record,  and  further  back  than  their  tradition 
reaches.  They  were  very  numerous  in  1579,  at  the  time  of 
the  first  white  settlement  under  Ornate ;  they  were  here  in 
1580,  at  the  time  of  Espejo's  expedition.  An  account  is  giv- 
en of  the  expedition  being  driven  back  by  40,000  Indians. 
They  were  here  at  the  time  of  the  first  Spanish  exploration, 
under  Cabeca  de  Vaca,  who  passed  from  Florida  through  this 
territory  to  San  Miguel,  on  the  Gulf  of  California,  occupying 
the  eight  years  from  1528  to  1536.  Back  of  this  date  tradi- 
tion is  the  only  source  of  information  concerning  the  history 
of  the  tribe,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  show  their  existence  far  back 
of  that  time.  In  1680  the  territory  contained  a  great  many 
Spaniards,  who  had  built  churches,  and  were  cultivating  the 
soil  in  the  valleys  and  working  the  mines.  At  this  date  a  con- 
troversy arose,  and  the  Indians  drove  every  Spaniard  out  of 
the  territory,  destroyed  their  churches,  burned  up  their  church 


74  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

vestments  and  archives  of  government,  retained  their  Indian 
wives,  filled  up  their  mining  shafts,  and  sought  to  obliterate 
every  trace  of  their  existence.  The  Indians  held  absolute 
sway  for  thirteen  years,  till  1693,  when  a  compromise  was  ef- 
tected,  and  the  Spaniards  were  allowed  to  return  to  till  the 
soil  and  raise  stock,  but  not  to  work  the  mines.  The  reason 
for  this  was,  because  under  the  former  Spanish  rule  the  In- 
dians had  been  oppressed,  and  made  to  back  ore  out  of  the 
mines  and  do  other  hard  work  incident  to  the  mining  business. 

The  Pueblos  in  this  village  number  about  500,  all  told,  live 
in  two  houses,  and  you  never  saw  or  heard  of  such  houses.  I 
will  describe  one.  It  is  about  60x100  feet  on  the  ground,  and 
five  stories  high.  But  this  gives  you  no  idea  of  the  establish- 
ment. The  first  story  is  built  of  adobe  brick,  wTith  outside  and 
partition  walls  some  two  feet  thick.  This  story  is  floored  over 
with  poles  and  mud  of  same  thickness.  Then  another  house 
is  built  on  top  of  this,  occupying  the  entire  top  of  the  first  sto- 
ry, except  a  walk  around,  about  six  feet  wide.  This  is  also 
floored  with  poles  and  mud,  like  the  first  story.  The  third  sto- 
ry is  built  on  the  second,  leaving  the  walk  around  as  before. 
The  fouith  and  fifth  stories  follow  the  same  rule,  the  fifth  or 
last  story  being  only  one  room  wide.  Now  this  great  mud 
house  is  divided  into  numerous  lamily  residences,  of  two  little 
rooms  each,  and  has  not  a  door  or  window  in  the  whole  concern. 
In  the  walk  around,  just  over  each  family  residence,  is  a  scut- 
tle hole,  two  teet  square,  covered  with  a  drop  door,  like  that 
over  any  other  scuttle  hole,  and  this  is  the  only  ingress  or 
egress  to  the  several  domiciles.  The  domiciles  are  separated 
from  each  other  by  solid  adobe  walls.  Each  room  is  supplied 
with  light  by  a  single  round  hole,  about  eight  inches  in  diame- 
ter, through  the  two  foot  wall.  Not  very  brilliantly  lighted, 
but  it  suffices  for  all  Pueblo  purposes.  Stairs  ?  Oh;  we  forgot. 
Each  family  has  a  ladder  leading  to  its  little  hole  in  the  top, 
and  when  the  last  member  is  in  he  pulls  up  his  ladder,  pins 
the  scuttle  cover  on  the  inside,  and  the  family  is  secure  from 
all  intruders.  This  building,  and  a  mate  to  it,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  a  little  brook,  which  runs  through  their  grounds,  have 


IN  PUEBLO,  INDIAN  VILLAGE.  75 

been  right  where  they  are  now  from  a  time  beyond  which  the 
memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrary,  and  constitute  the 
principal  part  of  the  Pueblo  village.  This  was  a  style  ol  ar- 
chitecture the  Pueblo  considered  most  conducive  to  safety  at 
a  time  when  bows  and  arrows  were  the  instruments  of  war- 
fare. The  tribe  have  never  elevated  their  ideas  of  architec- 
tural beauty,  but  it  has  never  oeen  followed  by  any  other  tribe 
of  Indians  or  race  of  people  that  we  can  hear  of.  One  thing- 
is  commendable  in  their  style.  It  endures.  It  has  stood  hun- 
dreds of  years,  been  occupied  all  the  time,  and  is  still  just  as 
handsome  as  it  was  the  day  it  was  made. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  several  other  one  story,  flat 
top  adobe  houses  at  the  ends  and  sides  of  the  two  main  struc- 
tures, and  these  have  little  doors  in  the  sides,  showing  that  the 
Pueblos  are  yielding  gradually  to  the  modern  method  of  going 
into  a  house.  The  ruins  of  an  old  mud  church  stand  but  a 
few  rods  from  one  of  the  main  buildings.  The  Mexican  Priests 
had  some  time  or  other  got  the  Pueblos  to  attend  the  Roman 
Catholic  church,  and  prevailed  upon  them  to  help  build  the 
church,  where  they  listened  to  harangue  of  priests  quite 
regularly  tor  a  long  time,  though  never  abandoning  their  own 
religion  as  worshipers  of  the  sun.  The  church  was  built  fur- 
ther back  than  their  tradition  reaches,  but  it  was  destroyed  in 
1847,  under  the  following  circumstances.  The  Mexicans  here- 
abouts conceived  the  idea  that  by  assassinating  the  Taos  Amer- 
icans they  would  settle  the  dispute  between  Mexico  and  the 
United  States,  and  g;ive  Mexico  the  control.  Invitations  were 
sent  out  for  all  the  Americans  to  join  them  in  a  conference  at 
the  Taos  hotel.  But  it  happened  that  several  prominent  Amer- 
icans were  absent  in  Santa  Fe,  and  elsewhere,  and  only  a  dozen 
or  more  attended  the  meeting.  At  a  given  signal  the  massa- 
cre commenced,  and  nine  of  them  were  killed,  and  the  others 
escaped.  L.  B.  MaxweH,  the  proprietor  ol  the  Maxwell  Grant, 
was  in  Taos,  but  received  the  wink  from  an  Indian  woman  o  f 
what  was  to  happen,  slyly  slipped  out  of  the  meeting,  and  took 
to  the  woods,  where  he  nearly  froze  to  death  during  the  night. 
Soon  after  the  massacre,  expecting  a  visit  from  the  troops  sta- 


76  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

tioned  at  a  camp  sixteen  miles  east  of  Taos,  under  Sterling 
Price,  they  persuaded  the  Pueblos  ,to  help  them  fortify  a  de- 
fence. The  Mexicans  and  the  Pueblos  got  into  the  adobe 
church,  and  when  the  troops  arrived  made  a  strong  resistance. 
But  a  couple  of  six  pounders  soon  made  a  ruin  of  the  church, 
killed  many  of  the  inmates,  and  scattered  the  rest.  The  su- 
perstition of  the  Pueblos  prevented  repairs  of  the  old  church, 
and  the  ruins  stand  here  now  about  as  left  at  that  time. 

The  Pueblos  have  always  been  friendly  to  the  whites,  and  in 
consequence  of  this  disposition  have  been  made  citizens,  with 
the  right  of  suffrage,  though  they  seldom  appear  at  the  polls.  • 
They  are  a  quiet,  orderly  people,  and  till  the  soil  for  a  living. 
But  they  paint,  wear  leathers,  a  loose  shawl,  breech  cloth,  leg- 
gings and  moccasins,  and  look  very  much  like  picture-book  In- 
dians. They  own  a  mile  square  of  laud,  which  is  parceled  out 
to  the  different  families.  They  sell  grain  and  vegetables  in 
Taos,  but  never  much  at  a  time,  just  enough  to  make  what 
purchases  they  want  for  the  day.  This  produce  is  their  me- 
dium of  exchange,  and  when  they  want  a  little  tea,  tobacco,  or 
a  piece  of  dry  goods,  they  take  a  little  bundle  of  produce  with 
which  to  purchase.  It  never  would  do.  to  sell  all  their  produce 
for  money,  as  it  would  all  go  the  first  time  they  enter  a  store. 
The  squaws,  of  course,  do  the  carrying  and  the  general  shop- 
ping for  the  family,  but  when  the  bucks  want  something  to 
drink  they  go  themselves,  in  order  to  make  a  sure  thing  of  it. 
The  squaws,  though  faithful  as  a  general  thing,  are  not  alto- 
gether trusty  in  this  particular  line  of  shopping. 

On  our  visit  to-day  we  found  one  of  the  councilmen,  a  clev- 
er buck  of  about  60  years,  who  tendered  us  the  hospitalities 
of  the  city.  We  climbed  the  ladder  to  the  top  of  the  fifth 
story,  where  we  took  in  a  view  of  the  curious  surroundings, 
squaws  husking  corn,  bucks  walking  around  here  and  there  in 
their  red  shawls,  Indian  girls  backing  papooses  about  the  open 
space,  etc.  One  little  girl,  scarcely  ten  years  old,  followed 
us  about,  having  upon  her  back  a  bag  full  of  papoose,  with  its 
head  sticking  out  at  the  top,  and  with  a  countenance  expres- 
sive of  perfect  contentment.     The  bearer  of  this  little  burden 


IN  PUEBLO.  INDIAN  VILLAGE.  77 

was  playful  and  happy,  and  appeared  not  to  realize  that  the 
family  baby  was  tied  upon  her  back.  Both  of  the  large  build- 
ings were  covered  with  squaws,  packing  away  corn,  and  at- 
tending to  other  domestic  duties.  We  made  a  descent  through 
one  of  the  scuttle  holes,  where  we  found  ourselves  in  the 
midst  of  a  family  of  husband,  wife  and  half  a  dozen  children. 
The  room  we  dropped  into  was  about  10  feet  square.  In  one 
corner  was  a  pile  of  grain — the  family  treasury — in  another 
corner  a  bunk,  under  which  was  kept  groceries,  vegetables, 
pots,  kettles,  and  what-nots.  The  room  was  packed,  but 
there  was  space  enough  on  the  floor  for  the  pater  familias, 
who  sat  there  painting  his  face  red,  occasionally  rubbing  a  lit- 
tle on  the  face  of  a  five  years'  old  boy,  who  seemed  to  appre- 
ciate the  honor.  This  was  done  perhaps  to  please  the  child, 
and  perhaps  to  entertain  the  visitors,  as,  not  being  able  to 
speak  to  us,  it  was  the  first  and  most  conveniently  improvised 
entertainment  which  occurred  to  him. 

The  mother  was  taken  back  at  the  unexpected  "dropping  in" 
of  four  foreigners,  and  made  a  variety  of  contortions  in  at- 
tempting to  suppress  inward  laughter  which  was  crowding  the 
countenance  for  expression.  M.  M.  could  speak  Mexican, 
and  he  talked  to  the  squaw  in  that  language.  We  thought  he 
was  explaining  how  Folsom  was  a  single  man,  looking  the  vil- 
lage over  with  a  view  to  a  change  in  his  domestic  relations. 
At  all  events,  she  said  "Yaw,  Yaw,"  and  pointed  to  a  hole  in  the 
wall,  when  we  dropped  on  our  knees  and  crawled  through  in- 
to another  room,  which  was  used  as  a  kitchen.  Here  we  found 
a  blushing  Pueblo  maiden,  tucked  away  in  a  corner  behind  a 
stone,  inclined  like  a  washboard,  on  which  she  was  grinding 
corn  with  a  smaller  stone  held  in  her  hands.  She  was  a  bash- 
ful maiden,  and  expressed  her  opinion  of  the  situation  by 
hooking  the  fore-finger  in  the  left  corner  of  her  mouth,  drop- 
ping her  head  upon  her  right  shoulder,  and  smiling  sweetly. 
Seeing  Folsom,  she  blushed  deeply,  as  much  as  to  say, 
"That's  my  style  of  an  Injun  !"  The  boy  turned  a  shade 
darker,  in  response  to  the  glance  of  admiration.     It  was  mutu- 


78 


THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


PUEBLO  MAIDEN. 


al,but  as  we  had  no  time  to  encour- 
age acquaintance  we  crawled  back 
through  the  hole,  climbed  the  lad- 
der into  daylight,  and  descended 
the  series  of  ladders  to  the  ground. 
The  guide  next  conducted  us 
into  an  underground  room  where 
the  fire  of  Montezuma  has  been 
perpetually  burning  since  the  death 
of*  that  good  man,  who  the  Pueblos 
believe  will  return  to  earth  again. 
Montezuma  was  the  last  Emperor  of 
the  Aztec  race.  Born  in  1480,  he 
became  Emperor  in  1502,  and  was 
killed  in  1520,  seven  months  after 
the  arrival  of  Cortez. 

Thirty-five  miles  west  of  this 
place  are  the  famous  hot  springs, 
similar  to  those  at  Las  Yegas. 
Near  these  springs  is  a  village  covering  about  40  acres  of 
ground.  It  has  been  buried  for  centuries,  but  excavations  re- 
veal houses  made  of  adobe,  with  rooms,  fire-places,  pottery,  etc., 
in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation.  Similar  ruins  are  found  in 
various  places  in  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and  other  states  in 
the  Rocky  Mountain  range,  and  furnish  abundant  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  a  great  people  here,  at  a  time  back  of  human 
record  ;  a  people,  too,  quite  as  advanced  in  civilization  in  many 
respects  as  are  the  people  of  the  present  day.  If  Columbus  is 
entitled  to  the  credit  of  the  last  discovery  of  America,  it  would 
be  quite  satisfactory  to  lovers  of  history  to  learn  who  discover- 
ed it  first. 

History  is  indefinite  on  the  question  of  the  origin  of  the  Az- 
tecs. Tradition,  paintings  and  geology  are  in  harmony  in  lo- 
cating their  existence  back  of  the  twelfth  century.  The  race 
embraced  seven  tribes,  who  left  Aztlan  about  1164,  and,  after 
56  years  of  wandering,  arrived  in  Mexico  in  1216.  Where 
Aztlan  was  is  not  certain,  some  claiming  it  to  be  in  the  north, 
and  others  in  the  south.     As  some  of  their  paintings  represent 


IN  PUEBLO,  INDIAN  VILLAGE.  79 

palm  trees,  the  inference  is  pretty  strong  that  it  was  in  the 
south  perhaps  in  Central  America.  One  of  these  seven  tribes 
was  under  a  ruler  named  Mexi,  who  in  time  established  his  do- 
minion over  the  seven,  and  hence  all  took  the  name  of  Mexi- 
cans, and  continued  under  a  sort  of  elective  monarchy  till  1519, 
at  the  time  of  the  conquest  under  Cortez. 

Prior  to  the  Aztecs,  the  country  was  inhabited  b^y  the  Toltecs, 
a  race  numerous,  civilized,  and  possessing  the  highest  skill  in 
the  arts.  But  no  history  of  their  race  is  lett,  except  in  the 
form  of  buried  cities,  household  implements  and  other  relics 
found  in  the  earth.  Tradition  says  that  they  migrated  from 
the  north  some  time  in  the  seventh  century,  remained  in  Mexico 
three  or  four  centuries,  and  then  migrated  south  again,  where 
they  founded  cities  in  Guatemala,  among  the  ruins  of  which  are 
found  specimens  of  architectural  skill  which  excite  the  wonder 
of  the  critics  of  the  present  generation.  Without  doubt  the 
buried  ruins  of  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and  further  south,  are 
what  is  left  to  the  present  generation  of  the  once  powerful  and 
civilized  Toltecs. 

The  cliff  dwellings  in  New  Mexico  also  form  an  interesting 
study  to  the  student  of  American  antiquities.  They  furnish 
evidence  of  still  another  existence  at  a  time — nobody  knows 
when.  These  dwellings  consist  of  rooms  excavated  in  the 
sides  of  rocky  precipices,  and  in  some  places  they  extend  for 
miles  in  length  along  the  almost  inaccessible  cliffs.  They  are 
in  close  proximity  to  each  other,  showing  a  very  populous  peo- 
ple. Ruts  in  the  rocks  worn  by  the  feet  of  the  people  going 
to"  and  from  their  dwellings  still  exist,  for  the  marvel  of  gener- 
ations yet  to  come.  These  people  probably  existed  long  prior 
to  the  Toltecs,  and  what  was  their  condition  can  only  be  con- 
jectured. Probably  they  were  the  original  population,  rude, 
uncultivated,  and  always  ready  for  fight  or  an  invasion  from  a 
foreign  foe.  The  selection  of  habitations  would  indicate  that 
they  prized  a  secure  thing  in  the  way  of  defense. 


80  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


Run  No.  12. 


FORGETFULNESS— DINNER  ON  THE  KENEDY  HEARTHSTONE— THE 
GOVERNOR  NOT  HUNGRY— A  SLIP  UP— DECEPTIVE  DISTANCES- 
PAUL  DuCHAILLU,  THE  AFRICAN  TRAVELER-FOLSOM  SURPRISES  A 
BUNCH  OF  SOAP  WEEDS— PHOTOGRAPHING  A  HERD  OF  CATTLE 
—THE  LUNCH  WITH  COFFEE— INDEPENDENT  OF  ROADS. 


Cimarron,  New  Mexico,  November  3,  1881. 

A  day  or  two  after  the  letter  from  Taos  was  written  I  was 
looking  over  a  calendar,  and  made  a  discovery  which  so  morti- 
fied me  that  I  resolved  to  send  no  further  record  of  my  doings 
and  observations  in  this  unscriptural  country.  But  having 
more  fully  considered  the  matter,  I  have  concluded  to  apolo- 
gize and  resume  the  record.  The  day  we  rode  from  Elizabeth- 
town  to  Taos,  blazing  away  at  those  innocent  wolves  and  prai- 
rie dogs,  was  Sunday,  and  the  very  hour  you  were  dutiiully 
getting  your  Sabbath-school  lessons,  I  was  among  the  wicked 
Romans,  doing  as  they  do.  But  there  was  nobody  and  noth- 
ing in  Elizabethtown,  or  country  round  about,  to  remind  one 
what  day  it  was.  Everybody  was  as  hard  at  work  as  ever,  and 
this  was  the  occasion  of  my  forgetfulness.  Folsom  and  the 
Governor  say  they  knew  what  day  it  was  all  the  time,  and 
they  consequently  do  not  have  even  the  poor  excuse  of  for- 
getfulness. As  for  M.  M.,  having  been  in  this  country  a  lung 
time,  he  is  not  supposed  to  know  which  end  of  the  week  the 
day  of  rest  comes.  The  charity  of  easy  morals  will  excuse 
him,  but  will  hold  me  partially  responsible,  and  put  a  firm 
grip  on  the  two  knowing  sinners.     The  more  I  travel  in  this 


RETURN  FROM  TAOS.  81 

section  of  our  own  country,  the  more  reason  do  I  discover  for 
withholding  the  African  contribution  lor  home  use.  At  least 
money  enough  should  be  sent  out  here  to  teach  the  natives  the 
signification  of  the  Sabbath. 

On  the  return  from  Taos  we  found  snow  on  the  divide, 
but  soon  passed  below  it  on  the  descent  into  the  Elizabethtown 
valley.  We  got  an  early  start  in  the  morning,  and  at  noon 
reached  the  foot  of  the  canon,  tied  the  horses  out  to  graze, 
built  a  fire  on  the  site  ol  the  old  Kenedy  mansion,  and  ate  our 
dinner  on  the  hearth  stone  from  beneath  which  the  murdered 
brother  of  the  Kansas  Governor  was  dug  up  in  1858.  The 
hair  of  the  Governor  in  our  company  stood  on  end,  to  some  ex- 
tent, and  his  appetite  was  not  up  to  the  usual  point  of  gorman- 
dization.  This  was  fortunate  for  the  rest  of  us,  as  for  once  we 
got  our  portion  of  the  rations.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  feast 
we  hitched  up,  passed  through  ten  miles  of  the  mountain  prai- 
rie, where  we  again  paid  numerous  leaden  compliments  to  the 
prairie  dogs,  then  entered  the  lower  canon  between  those  two 
ranges  of  foot  hills — grand  old  mountains  in  reality — and  ar- 
rived home  at  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  having  made  the  trip 
from  Taos,  65  miles,  in  12  hours.  This  would  be  nothing  for 
fresh  horses,  but  it  was  the  fourth  day  our  teams  were  in  the 
harness.  But  four  days  is  not  an  unusual  trip  for  horses  in  this 
country  of  immense  distances.  They  were  turned  out  to  take 
their  turn  at  rest,  while  fresh  ones  took  their  places. 

Speaking  of  deceptive  distances  in  a  former  letter,  reminds 
me  that  Folsom  had  been  teasing  me  for  several  days  to  "slip 
up"  with  him  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  foot  hills  near  the  house. 
He  wanted  to  make  the  trip  as  a  morning  walk  before  break- 
fast, and  thought  a  half  hour  going  up  and  fifteen  minutes 
coming  down  would  accomplish  it,  and  give  a  good  appetite  for 
breakfast.  I  had  traveled  enough  half  hours  in  New  Mexico 
to  justify  a  suspicion  of  his  estimate,  but  consented  to  join  him 
on  a  full  stomach.  We  left  the  house  at  half-past  nine,  and 
made  out  to  "slip  up"  to  the  top  of  that  hill  in  just  three  hours. 
We  took  rests,  of  course,  because  it  was  simply  impossible  to 
travel  long  without  sitting  down  to  pump  breath.     Exertion  in 


82  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

this  country,  where  the  atmosphere  is  so  thin,  calls  for  a  vigor- 
ous pair  of  lungs.  We  were  more  fortunate  in  accomplishing 
the  descent.  The  estimate  of  fifteen  minutes  required  a  good 
tramp  ol  60  minutes.  The  fact  of  these  deceptive  distances 
is  owing  in  part  to  the  reason  given  in  a  former  letter,  but,  if 
that  is  not  sufficient,  I  will  guess  again  as  follows  :  The  alti- 
tude here  is  high  and  the  air  is  thin,  so  that  distant  objects  are 
defined  and  outlined  with  such  distinctness  that  one  is  apt  to 
consider  himself  twice  or  three  times  as  near  them  as  he  real- 
ly is. 

On  the  top  of  the  mountain  I  was  interested  in  observing 
the  great  rocks,  many  of  them  of  immense  magnitude,  stand- 
ing just  where  the  ocean  left  them  many  years  ago,  before  I 
was  born.  There  they  still  stood,  a  thousand  feet  above  the 
prairie,  or  the  bed  of  a  later  ocean,  which  existed  a  thousand 
years,  more  or  less,  since  the  great  rocks  were  washed  into 
their  peculiar  forms  by  the  father  of  the  ocean  "last  above 
mentioned."  As  T  looked  at  those  rocks,  I  imagined  I  could 
see  the  ocean  waves  beating  against  them,  and  I  tried  to 
think  back  into  the  past — back  of  the  existence  of  those  ocean 
washed  rocks,  now  standing  a  thousand  feet  above  the  prairie, 
and  8,000  feet  above  the  ocean  of  this  nineteenth  century.  I 
tried  to  go  clear  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  world,  and  wit- 
ness the  work  of  the  Creator  in  giving  mundane  geography  a 
start.     But  it  was  a  failure.     I  did  not  see  anything. 

At  an  entertainment  given  the  other  evening  by  F.  R.  Sher- 
win,  I  met  Paul  DuChaillu,  the  famous  African  traveler,  who 
will  soon  be  better  known  as  the  author  of  "The  Land  of  the 
Midnight  Sun."  DuChaillu  was  born  in  Louisiana,  is  of 
French  extraction,  about  60  years  old,  only  two-thirds  grown, 
a  wiry,  nervous,  lively  little  gentleman,  as  full  of  fun  and 
talk  as  an  egg  is  of  meat.  But  he  never  talks  without  saying 
something,  and  never  cracks  a  joke  without  having  a  point  to 
it.  DuChaillu  spent  three  years  in  Africa,  a  year  or  two  in 
Norwa}^  and  Sweden,  has  wandered  in,  and  written  about, 
other  countries,  and  is  now,  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Sher- 


WITH  PAUL  DuCHAILLU.  83 

win,  who  practically  owns  sixty  odd  miles  square  of  this  ter- 
ritory, traveling  over  it  with  a  photographer,  Mr.  Burghma^n, 
of  New  York  City,  taking  views  and  studying  the  locality, 
with  a  view  of  writing  a  series  of  illustrated  articles  for  Har- 
per's  Magazine.  He  has  been  over  the  Taos  Valley,  through 
the  various  canons  on  Sherwin's  Maxwell  grant,  visited  the 
mines,  studied  the  geography  and  resources  of  the  country 
thoroughly,  and  had  hundreds  of  views  taken.  I  have  exam- 
ined many  of  them  which  are  life  like  and  artistic.  Mr.  Du- 
Chaillu is  a  fine  descriptive  writer,  and,  if  his  articles  are 
abundantly  illustrated  with  these  views,  they  ought  certainly 
to  command  a  large  sale  of  the  periodical  which  publishes 
them. 

Thursday  last  was  the  day  appointed  for  DuChaillu  and 
his  artist  to  ride  to  M.  M.  Chase's  home  pasture,  "the  Ver- 
mrjo,,"  fifteen  miles  distant.  The  outfit  from  the  house  of 
M.  M.,  consisted  of  two  double  teams,  and  five  men  on  horse- 
back, among  whom  was  Dr.  Cunningham,  of  Las  Vegas,  who 
went  as  cow  boy  to  help  "round  up"  a  bunch  of  cattle  for  the 
camera.  Mr.  DuChaillu  and  Burghinan  started  from  town, 
four  miles  from  Mr.  Chase's  house.  The  Governor  and  the 
Editor  went  in  one  team  with  Folsom  on  horseback  behind. 
Having  guns,  we  cut  across  the  prairie  in  pursuit  of  a  "bunch" 
of  antelopes  which  we  had  attempted  to  "round  up''  a  few 
days  before.  When  eight  miles  out,  Folsom  spied  something 
far  away  on  a  rise  of  land,  and,  riding  up  to  the  buggy.,  he 
pointed  to  the  objects  and  said  :  "There  they  are  ;  you  drive 
a  mile  to  the  left,  and  I  will  ride  a  couple  of  miles  to  the  right, 
come  up  behind  them,  and  run  them  towards  your  rifle.''  Giv- 
ing his  directions,  with  the  air  of  a  General  ordering  a  move- 
ment in  battle,  he  galloped  away,  cutting  a  circle  of  three 
miles,  and  came  up  from  the  other  side  of  the  high  ground  to 
surprise  a  half  dozen  bunches  of  soap  weeds,  which  now  and 
then  grow  in  large  clusters  on  the  prairie.  He  was  so  far 
away  that  I  could  not  note  the  exact  expression  of  his  coun- 
tenance, but  I  never  saw  a  Mexican  broncho  hang  his  head  low- 


84  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN, 

er,  or  look  more  humiliated  and  demoralized,  than  the  one 
Folsom  was  astride  of.  He  was  evidently  ashamed,  and, 
judging  from  the  long  time  it  took  Folsom  to  catch  up  and 
report,  I  inferred  that  he  partook  somewhat  of  the  donkey's 
mortification.  When  we  speak  of  hunting  antelopes,  Folsom 
hangs  his  head  and  modestly  suggests,  "Don't  rely  on  me." 

We  arrived  at  the  pasture  gate  just  as  M.  M.  arrived  with 
DuChaillu  and  the  artist,  travelled  three  miles,  to  the  foot  of 
"Saltpeter"  canon,  where  the  doctor  and  the  other  cow  boys 
had  rounded  up  a  bunch  of  three  hundred  cattle.  The  cam- 
era was  focused  with  that  splendid  herd  in  front,  several  hun- 
dred cattle  grazing  in  the  plain  beyond  them,  and  the  spacious 
canon  with  its  adjoining  mountains  for  the  back  ground.  It 
was  a  most  charming  view,  showing  at  once  a  fine  specimen  of 
the  agricultural  resources  of  New  Mexico,  in  the  way  of  stock 
grazing,  and  shelter,  and  also  a  charming  view  of  the  moun- 
tains, which  form  another  source  of  wealth  in  the  way  of  min- 
ing resources.  I  shall  look  anxiously  for  that  view  in  Har- 
per's Magazine. 

After  the  picture  was  taken,  we  all  sat  down  round  the 
camp  fire,  M.  M.  doing  the  honors  of  cook,  and  overdoing 
generosity  by  steeping  a  half  pound  of  coffee  in  a  dozen  cups 
of  water.  But  he  intended  to  satisfy  that  African  traveler 
that  New  Mexican  people  drink  coffee  full  strength. 

A  part  of  the  novelty  of  New  Mexico  life  is  the  lunch  box. 
People  seldom  travel  without  it.  When  noon  overtakes  them, 
they  unhitch,  tie  the  horses  out  to  graze,  start  a  fire  and  pat- 
ronize the  hotel  of  abundant  supplies  and  scanty  furniture. 
So  far  as  my  experience  has  gone,  it  is  a  most  satisfactory 
hotel,  with  no  opportunity  for  good  sense  to  utter  a  complaint. 
In  the  States,  one  sometimes  puts  up  at  a  hotel  where  the  order 
is  reversed,  and  furniture  comes  first.  Nice  furniture  is  a 
luxury,  but  a  full  stomach  is  a  comfort.  I  am  own  brother  to 
comfort,  and  only  third  cousin  to  luxury. 

Another  novelty  here  is  the  independence  travelers  exer- 
cise over  roads.     If  the  shortest  cut  between  two  points  is 


IN  CIMARRON,  NEW  MEXICO.  85 

across  the  prairie  that  is  the  route  taken  by  teams.  The  on- 
ly thing  to  fear  is  an  occasional  arroyo,  or  ditch,  cut  in  the 
prairie  by  the  heavy  rains.  They  are  quite  numerous  in  the 
lowest  plains,  and  one  sometimes  has  to  travel  a  long  ways  out 
of  course  for  passage.  But  the  prairie  ride,  to  an  Eastern 
man,  is  always  attractive,  because  of  its  novelty  and  the  op- 
portunity it  gives  to  strain  the  eyes  for  a  sight  of  antelopes, 
coyotes  (prairie  wolves)  and  prairie  dogs. 


86  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


Run  No.  13. 


GAME— THE  EDITOR'S  FIRST  SHOT— A  MAD  GOVERNOR— A  FAMILY 
HUNT— THE  GOVERNOR  FORGETS  TO  SHOOT— THE  GOVERNOR'S 
CAUTION— THE  PROCESSION  UP  DEAN  CANON— THE  MULE'S 
TREATMENT  OF  THE  EDITOR— CAMPING  OUT,  WITH  FURTHER 
EVIDENCE  OF  THE  GOVERNOR'S  CAUTION— ICE— M.  M.  AND  THE 
BEAR— A  NAKED  SURPRISE. 


Cimarron,  N.  M.,  November  6,   1881. 

Perhaps  the  reader  is  fond  of  the  chase  and  would  like 
some  mention  of  the  game  in  this  locality,  method  of  hunting, 
etc. 

The  days  of  most  abundant  game  have  past.  M.  M.  was 
among  the  first  of  the  whites  to  settle  here  15  years  ago. 
Some  years  before  this,  the  buffalo  were  plenty.  He  has 
seen  them  cover  the  prairie  as  thick  as  forest,  trees  and  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  reach  in  every  direction.  But  civilization 
and  the  acompatrying  railroad  iron  have  driven  them  away. 
The  prairies  still  abound  with  antelopes,  swift,  badger,  por- 
cupine and  coyote.  Deer,  foxes,  wild  cats  and  turkeys  are 
quite  plenty  in  the  foot  hills.  Black  and  cinnamon  bears 
and,  occasionally,  mountain  lions  are  found,  but  at  this  sea- 
son they  are  back. in  the  big  mountains.  Ducks  and  geese 
are  always  plenty,  and  the  woods  abound  in  a  variety  of 
small  birds.  Grey  squirrels  are  found,  but  not  plenty,  and 
they  live  in  the  ground  intead  of  trees,  as  in  the  east.  Fox- 
es have  a  curious  habit,  too,  of  climbing  trees,  which  would 
surprise    their    kind   in  the    east.     Beaver  are   quite    plenty 


ON  GAME.       '  87 

along  the  streams,  but  of  all  game,  they  are  the  most  diffi- 
cult to  shoot.  They  have  a  way  of  detecting  when  danger  is 
near,  and  are  not  fond  of  being  gazed  at  by  human  beings. 
There  is  a  dam  but  a  few  rods  from  the  house,  and  I  have 
found  plenty  evidences  of  their  work  in  the  night,  but  they  are 
always  absent  when  I  call  in  the  morning. 

But  perhaps  you  would  like  to  kndw  what  triumphs  the 
Vermont  delegates  have  made  in  the  chase.  I  am  not  a  pro- 
fessional hunter,  and,  besides,  successful  hunting  in  this 
country  requires  more  leg  exertion  than  men  of  sedentary 
habits  have  at  command.  The  first  shot  I  made  was  one 
morning  on  the  creek,  twenty  rods  from  the  house,  where  I 
stealthily  approached  a  flock  of  nine  ducks  and,  at  one 
shot,  killed  six  of  them.  Perhaps  you  could  have  done  bet- 
ter, dear  reader,  but  you  must  understand  it  was  not  much 
of  a  morning  for  ducks,  and  I  had  scarcely  got  my  hand  in  on 
shot  gun  practice.  But  for  some  reason  or  other  ducks  have 
been  shy  of  me  since  that  morning,  and  the  best  single  shot 
since  has  brought  down  but  three.  Magpies,  mountain  blue 
jays,  and  other  birds,  are  plenty  about  the  house,  especially 
mornings.  My  practice  has  been  to  get  out  of  bed  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  draw  on  a  pair  of  pants,  open  a  bed- 
room door  (every  room  has  an  out-side  door,  remember,) 
and  blaze  away  at  something  in  the  yard.  The  result  usually 
is  a  dead  magpie  outside,  and  inside  between  the  sheets,  a 
mad  Governor,  who  rolls  over  into  a  new  position  and  talks 
in  his  sleep  as  follows  :  "Cussed  fool — blazing  away  here  at 
midnight !"  The  explosion  pops  Folsom  into  a  sitting  pos- 
ture on  his  cot,  where,  after  scratching  his  head,  to  make 
sure  he  is  awake,  he  inquires  for  results,  and  gets  up  to  enjoy 
the  day.  Nothing  less  than  a  hundred-pound  Columbiad,  an 
earthquake,  or  the  yell  of  a  band  of  Apaches  ,  would  produce 
such  an  effect  on  the  Governor  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. His  "midnight"  is  the  proper  hour  for  enterprise  to  be- 
gin a  day's  work. 

The  other  day  M.  M.,  knowing  that  the  Vermont  delega- 


88  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

tion  wanted  to  shoot  a  wild  deer,  loaded  up  the  guns  and 
took  the  household,  women  and  all,  down  the  canon,  a  half 
mile  in  front  of  the  house,  where  He  sent  the  hired  man  on 
horseback,  with  the  hounds,  into  the  young  cottonwoods  on 
the  creek.  The  Governor  and  the  women  were  stationed  on 
the  brow  of  a  low  hill,  with  a  Winchester  rifle,  a  sixteen  shooter. 
I  was  stationed  with  a  shot  gun  on  a  knoll  back  of  him,  and 
Folsom,  with  a  toy  revolver  in  his  jacket  pocket,  and  M.  M., 
with  a  Sharpe's  rifle,  took  position  on  a  slope  opposite.  We 
were  all  within  hailing  distance  and  commanded  the  low 
ground  where  the  deer  would  be  likely  to  run.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  mellifluous  voice  of  the  hound  announced  the  dis- 
covery of  game,  and  presently  a  deer  came  to  the  edge  of  the 
brush  and  stood  in  harking  posture,  within  easy  range  of  the 
Winchester  rifle.  The  Governor  saw  him  and,  "By  jolly, 
ain't  he  a  pretty  one  ?"  was  all  the  ammunition  he  had  ready 
for  him.  While  admiring  the  proportions  of  the  game  he  for- 
got the  rifle,  and  the  deer,  satisfied  with  the  compliment, 
took  to  his  heels,  and  was  out  of  sight  in  a  jiff*.  A  big  buck 
was  also  driven  out  by  the  hound,  but  scenting  the  hunters, 
he  took  the  opposite  direction,  and  made  good  his  escape. 
Thus  ended  our  first  deer  hunt,  which  occupied  but  a  couple 
of  hours  from  the  time  we  left  the  house.  Doubtless  it 
would  have  ended  the  same  to  the  deer,  whether  the  Govern- 
or had  spent  his  time  admiring  its  form  or  firing  his  Winches- 
ter, but  the  Governor  would  have  got  more  credit  from  the 
natives  had  he  thought  of  his  rifle  first.  He  intended  to  shoot, 
no  doubt,  after  he  got  his  comments  all  in,  and  got  round  to 
business,  but  that  is  not  the  way  they  hunt  here.  The  more 
common  method  is  to  shoot  and  make  the  comments  after- 
wards. Game  is  generally  in  a  hurry  and  can't  wait  for  long 
stories. 

On  Friday  last  we  made  a  second  effort,  selecting  the  up- 
per end  of  Dean  canon  as  the  hunting  ground.  Strapping  a 
mattrass,  a  pile  of  clothing,  camp  kettle  and  a  bag  of  pro- 
visions to  John's  back   (John  is  a  mule),  four  horses  were 


PROCESSION  UP  DEAN  CANON.  89 

saddled  and  M.  M.,  with  his  Sharpe's  rifle  lead  the  way,  Fol- 
som  following  with  his  little  revolver,  the  editor  third,  with  a 
shot  gun,  and  the  Governor  bringing  up  the  rear,  so  as  to 
have  the  lead  toward  home,  in  case  the  yell  of  the  red  man, 
or  any  other  fright,  suggested  that  direction.  The  Governor 
enters  into  wild  life  with  marked  circumspection,  and,  when 
there  is  prospect  of  danger,  he  wants  to  know  that  the  bridges 
are  in  position  in  the  rear  and  that  the  road  towards  home  is 
clear  for  the  trial  of  speed.  I  have  seen  him  in  that  position 
once  or  twice,  when  he  immediately  recollected  that  he  had 
to  go  right  home  and  write  a  letter  which  he  had  forgotton. 
Up  in  the  mountains  the  other  day,  I  hollered  "Bears  ! "  at  him 
and  it  was  two  hours  before  he  could  get  his  hat  back  into 
position,  and  his  natural  hair  is  not  very  stiff  either. 

But  you  should  have  seen  that  procession  as  we  moved, 
single  file,  through  the  bushy  narrows  of  that  canon.  Each 
man  had  something  in  his  hands  of  use  in  the  hunt  or  the 
camp.  John,  with  his  great  pack,  was  hitched  to  the  tail  of 
the  editor's  broncho  and,  being  a  mule,  maintained  his  char- 
acteristics remarkably  well.  Whenever  the  broncho  attempt- 
ed to  jump  an  arroyo,  (ditch)  John  would  stop  and  look  at 
him,  always  bringing  the  animal  to  a  dead  stop  in  the  middle 
of  the  arroyo.  You  can  imagine  the  consequences.  Not  be- 
ing accustomed  to  that  kind  of  locomotion,  the  editor  would 
involuntarily  continue  the  journey,  and  pass  from  the  saddle  to 
the  neck  of  the  broncho  with  more  promptness  than  grace. 
This  performance  was  repeated  every  mile  or  oftener,  and  sur- 
passed a  clown  performance  in  the  "best  show  on  earth."  But 
John  never  smiled  once,  never  showed  any  disposition  to  cor- 
rect his  habit,  and  never  complained  at  the  comments  on  mules 
uttered  by  the  editor,  while  hitching  back  into  position.  Per- 
fect indifference  marked  every  feature  of  his  classic  counten- 
ance. The  only  thing  which  seemed  to  affect  him  was  when 
the  editor  threatened  to  put  him  in  the  skunk  list.  This 
seemed  to  strike  him  as  association  ruinous  to  the  character 
of  a  mule. 


90  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

On  arriving  at  the  upper  end  of  the  canon,  twelve  miles 
from  home,  it  was  nearly  dark  and  no  time  was  wasted  in 
roping  out  the  horses  to  graze,  building  fire  and  preparing 
supper.  Here  we  learned  something  from  M.  M.  about  cook- 
ing worth  remembering  in  an  emergency.  On  unpacking 
the  lunch  bag  it  was  discovered  that  no  salt  had  been  put  in. 
After  cutting  the  meat  and  spearing  it  with  sticks  for  roast- 
ing, M.  M.  called  for  powder.  It  was  produced  and  a  quan- 
tity sprinkled  over  the  meat,  which  answered  two  purposes, 
by  giving  the  meat  a  taste  of  salt  from  the  saltpeter  and  put- 
ting a  little  pluck  into  Folsom  and  the  Governor  for  the  mor- 
row's venture. 

After  the  usual  camp  fire  stories,  blankets  were  spread  on 
the  ground  and  the  party,  which  now  included  Bob  Dean, 
who  had  joined  us  when  part  way  up  the  canon,  laid  them- 
selves down  to  rest.  The  Governor  understanding  that  the 
bears  commenced  on  the  outside  of  the  row  to  eat,  managed 
to  secure  a  position  in  the  middle,  and  enjoyed  security. 
Some  people  have  an  instinct  of  self-preservation  so  remark- 
able as  to  enable  them  to  attend  the  funeral  obsequies  of  all 
their  friends.  It  is  a  good  instinct,  no  doubt,  and  a  safe  guide 
for  a  pair  of  fast  legs,  but  it  does  not  count  much  in  a  bear 
hunt,  or  in  a  raid  after  Indians. 

I  do  not  know  what  the  thermometer  indicated  during  the 
night,  but  ice  was  an  inch  thick  on  the  creek  in  the  morning. 
The  eastern  cant  of  the  mountain  had  for  several  days  been  cov- 
ered with  snow,  which  extended  down  to  within  a  few  feet  of 
camp.  But  the  ground  was  as  dry  as  in  the  summer.  It  would 
not  do  to  camp  on  the  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  snow  in  the  east. 
Our  fire  was  built  against  a  great  pine  tree  which  was 
full  of  pitch,  and  burned  like  oil.  A  peculiarity  of  the  pines 
in  this  locality  is  that  every  particle  of  the  wood  is  as  full  of 
pitch  as  are  the  knots  in  the  Vermont  pine.  To  keep  a  rousing 
fire  only  required  an  occasional  stick  of  pine,  which  was  plen- 
ty in  the  vicinity  of  the  log.  Saturday  morning,  a  little 
before  sunrise,  we  rolled  out,  got  breakfast,  and  were  ready 


02V  A  HUNT.  91 

for  the  hunt.  It  was  a  beautiful  day,  like  our  first  of  Sep- 
tember. M.  M.,  Dean,  and  the  Governor,  having  the  only 
rifles,  mounted  their  bronchos,  and  were  off  in  the  mountains 
in  pursuit  of  game,  leaving  Folsom  and  the  editor  to  enjoy 
the  luxury  of  camp  lounging.  And  we  enjoyed  it  in  seeing 
how  high  we  could  send  the  flames  from  the  pitchy  pine,  in 
tramping,  admiring  the  weather,  snoozing,  etc.,  till  12  o'clock, 
when  the  hunters  returned  with  a  deer  strapped  upon  a  bron- 
cho behind  M.  M.  But  Dean  had  the  credit  of  shooting  it, 
bringing  it  down  out  of  a  band  of  four,  three  of  which  escaped, 
though  one  carried  away  the  second  bullet.  After  another 
meal  of  gun-powdered  meat,  John  was  repacked,  having  the 
addition  of  a  good  sized  deer  to  his  former  burden,  and  the 
party  mounted  and  reached  home  after  a  three  hours  ride. 

This  is  all  the  experience  the  Vermonters  have  had  in  hunt- 
ing, except  the  daily  morning  exercise  among  the  ducks  and 
magpies.  The  magpie  is  a  black  and  white  bird,  about  half 
the  size  of  the  Vermont  crow,  and,  though  a  bird  of  beauti- 
ful plumage,  is  a  most  efficient  chicken  thief. 

The  natives  hereabouts  have  had  numerous  hair  breadth  es- 
capes from  the  larger  game,  found  earlier  in  the  season. 
Three  or  four  years  ago,  one  evening,  just  after  M.  M.  had 
retired,  the  hired  girl  stepped  out  for  an  armful  of  wood  and 
rushed  back  excitedly,  saying  there  was  some  great  black 
thing  in  the  yard.  A  moment  afterwards  a  hog  squealed,  and 
M.  M.  knew  what  it  meant.  Jumping  from  bed  he  drew  on 
a  pair  of  boots,  seized  the  shot  gun,  which  was  loaded  for 
big  game,  and  rushed  for  the  barn.  The  squeal  of  that  hog 
seemed  to  be  moving  towards  the  mountain,  an  eighth  of  a 
mile  distant  over  the  creek.  As  there  Avas  no  time  to  return 
to  the  house  and  dress  for  the  pursuit,  M.  M.  rushed  along  in 

his  boots  and that  other  garment,  following  the  course 

the  squeal  took.  But  the  voice  of  the  hog  grew  fainter  and 
fainter,  and  finally  stopped  altogether.  It  was  very  dark, 
but  M.  M.,  knowing  every  bush  and  login  the  vicinity,  push- 
ed forward,  crossed  the  creek,  and,  just  as  he  stepped  upon 


92  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

a  prostrate  log,  that  bear  suddenly  rose  up  on  his  hind  legs 
and  gave  two  snorts  so  near  to  If.  M.'s  face  that  he  felt  his 
breath.  The  hunter  concluded  he  would  not  go  any  further 
that  way,  and  reversed  directions  so  promptly  that  his  boots 
failed  to  keep  up,  and  he  struck  on  his  back  six  feet  from  the 
log.  Had  there  been  light  and  a  camera  handy,  the  hunter, 
as  he  "lay  there  under  a  pair  of  elevated  cow  hides,  witha  cock- 
ed shot  gun  pointed  in  the  direction  of  the  expected  assault, 
would  have  made  an  illustration  of  naked  surprise,  which 
comic  almanac  makers  would  pay  Liberally  for.  The  bear 
failed  to  follow  up  his  advantage,  but  picked  up  the  hog  and 
hurried  away.  If.  If.,  knowing  the  route  he  would  take  to 
the  mountain,  made  a  cross  cut  to  the  path,  intercepted  the 
old  fellow,  and  tired  at  the  sound  of  his  approach.  The  dead 
hog  was  dropped,  and  while  ML  M.  was  making  tracks  for  the 
house,  the  bear  was  equally  industrious  in  a  direction  towards 
the  mountain.  The  next  day  the  bear  was  found  part  way  up 
the  mountain,  dead,  and  with  the  contents  of  that  shot  gun 
in  his  side. 

Mr.  Dawson,  a  partner  of  If.  M.,  has  more  than  once  had 
a  livelv  scramble  in  climbing  trees  to  £et  beyond  the  reach  of 
a  wounded  bear.  Mr.  Dawson  has  killed  two  bears  and  a 
mountain  lion,  besides  numerous  deer,  this  season.  Two 
young  men  from  his  house  returned  last  week  from  an  eight 
days  hunt,  bringing  eleven  deer  as  the  result  of  their  hunt. 
There  is  ^ame  enough  in  this  country  for  those  who  know 
how  to  capture  it. 


AMONG  THE  SHEEP. 


Run  No.  14. 


PROFITS  OF  STOCK  RAISING— MODUS  OPERANDI  OF  SHEEP  RAISING 
—EXPENSES  AND  RECEIPTS— CHASE  &  DAWSON'S  FLOCK— CATTLE 
—HOW  MANAGED— EXPENSES  AND  RECEIPTS— H.  M.  PORTER"S 
HERD— INDIVIDUAL  EXAMPLES  OF  SUCCESS— ADVANTAGES  IN 
NEW  MEXICO— THE  FOLLY  OF  RICHES. 


Cimarron,  November  9,  1881. 

The  profits  of  stock  raising  in  this  western  country  are  so 
great  that,  should  I  tell  the  exact  truth,  it  might  be  taken  as 
an  exaggeration.  I  have  met  many  of  the  large  stock  men, 
visited  a  number  of  ranches,  learned  something  about  the 
business,  and  will  give  the  reader,  in  brief,  the  result  of  my 
observations. 

Until  recently  all  of  the  herders  have  taken  advantage  of 
"free  range  ;"  that  is,  they  buy  their  flock,  hire  their  men  and 
locate  on  government  land,  out  upon  the  prairie  in  the  vicini- 
ty of  water.  At  the  present  time  those  who  are  able  are  buy- 
ing land  along  water  courses,  enclosing  their  purchase, 
and  as  much  government  land  back  of  it  as  they  desire,  with 
wire  fence.  This  is  "close  range."  A  large  proportion  of 
New  Mexico  sheep  are  herded  on  free  range. 

I  will  suppose,  reader,  you  are  a  stranger  in  the  business, 
and  will  advise  you  how  to  proceed.  First  buy  a  flock  of 
5,000  ewes,  which  will  cost  you  $2  a  head.  Next  buy  200 
Merino  bucks,  four  for  each  one  hundred  ewes,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $18  each.     The  necessary  herding  force  will  be  one 


94  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

man  for  each  1,000  sheep.  The  flock  should  be  divided  into 
two  bunches  of  2,500  each,  and  two  men,  at  $15  a  month 
each,  will  be  put  in  charge  of  each  bunch.  The  fifth  man  will 
be  the  Major  domo,  or  superintendent,  who  will  have  charge 
of  both  bunches,  will  be  paid  $50  a  month  and  found,  and  will 
be  held  accountable  for  the  proper  care  and  condition  of  the 
flock.  Having  now  invested  in  the  flock  and  hired  your  reg- 
ular herding  force,  you  can  sit  in  the  house,  look  over  the 
mining  sources  of  the  country,  or  go  east  and  wait  for  re- 
ports. But  the  Major  domo  will  go  on  with  the  work  sub- 
stantially as  follows  :  In  December  he  will  turn  the  bucks  in 
with  the  flock,  to  remain  about  35  days,  when  several  herders 
club  together,  put  their  rams  in  one  bunch,  and  hire  a  man  to 
herd  them  the  rest  of  the  year.  Some  of  the  largest  sheep 
raisers  fence  oflf  land  enough  to  keep  their  bucks  without 
mixing  with  others. 

Lambing  season  is  the  next  time  when  special  attention  is 
required.  This  begins  from  the  1st  to  the  10th  of  May,  when 
the  flocks  are  driven  to  some  vega,  or  low  land  in  the  prairie, 
where  moisture  has  started  the  early  grass.  This  is  done  that 
the  ewes  may  have  the  best  of  feed  and  give  plenty  of  milk. 
At  this  season  ten  extra  men  and  boys  must  be  hired  to  find 
lambs  disowned,  make  the  mothers  own  them  if  possible,  and 
also  to  keep  the  sheep  in  bunches  of  200  or  300  each,  for  ten 
or  twenty  days,  or  until  the  lambs  are  strong  enough  to  take 
care  of  themselves.  During  this  month  the  extra  help  should 
be  twice  the  number  of  the  regular  force,  or  the  five  hands 
should  be  increased  to  fifteen.  After  this  season  is  over  the 
usual  sized  bunches  are  made  again,  and  continue  with  the 
regular  force  on  the  prairie  till  the  middle  of  June,  when  they 
are  driven  to  headquarters  for  shearing.  One  man  will  shear 
an  average  of  70  Mexican,  or  35  graded  sheep  in  a  day,  and 
will  get  a  cent  and  a  half  for  the  Mexican,  and  three  cents  and 
a  half  for  the  grades.  As  you,  reader,  are  raising  improved 
sheep,  your  bill  will  be  three  and  a  half  cents  a  head  for 
shearing,  and  you  will  have  your  men  to  board  besides.     All 


PROFITS  OF  SHEEP  RAISING.  95 

hands  intend  to  employ  force  enough  to  complete  the  shearing 
in  ten  or  fifteen  days. 

The  next  step,  and  this  usually  comes  immediately  after 
shearing,  is  the  marking  of  lambs,  which  is  done  by  a  cut  in 
the  ear,  or  slitting  up  a  piece  of  skin  on  the  fore  leg,  each 
owner  having  his  peculiar  mark.  This  is  followed  immediate- 
ly by  dipping  in  a  solution  of  tobacco  and  sulphur,  an  opera- 
tion which  destroys  vermin  and  stimulates  the  growth  of 
wool.  This  is  an  important  process  and  demands  considera- 
ble preparation.  Two  large  kettles,  holding,  perhaps,  500 
gallons  each,  are  set  in  an  arch  for  steeping  the  liquor,  a  cor- 
ral is  built  on  each  side  of  the  arch,  and  a  trough  6  feet  deep 
is  set  in  the  ground  from  one  corral  to  the  other.  The  trough 
is  tilled  with  liquor,  as  hot  as  the  sheep  can  bear  it,  and  a  slow 
stream  is  left  running  from  the  kettle  to  the  trough  to  keep 
up  the  supply.  The  sheep  then  swim  through  this  trough, 
single  file,  one  man  standing  at  the  center,  with  a  wooden 
fork,  to  souse  in  their  heads  as  they  swim  by  him.  They 
then  crawl  up  on  an  inclined  plain,  where  they  stand  a  fewT 
minutes,  while  the  dripping  liquor  is  conducted  back  into  the 
trough.  After  the  whole  flock  have  passed  through  this 
process  they  are  ready  for  the  plains  again,  and  are  under  the 
eye  of  the  herders,  but  unmolested,  until  the  return  of  lamb- 
ing time  in  the  spring.  Such  are  the  different  steps  in  herd- 
ing sheep. 

Now  for  the  financial  exhibit  of  the  enterprise.  The  5,000 
ewes  cost  $10,000,  and  the  200  bucks  $3,600,  making  the 
capital  stock  $13,600.  In  addition  to  the  expense  mentioned 
above,  we  must  add  the  hire  of  four  men  for  June,  July,  Au- 
gust and  September,  during  which  time  the  flock  should  be 
divided  into  four  bunches  of  1,250  each,  in  order  that  the 
lambs  may  have  better  care  and  protection.  The  four  hands 
will  cost  $15  a  month  each  and  board,  or  a  total  of  $240.  In 
the  estimate  of  results  we  will  allow  that  the  flock  average  to 
shear  4  1-2  pounds  of  wool  per  head,  which  is  low  enough, 
and  that  it  brings  24  cents  a  pound,  also  that  the  1,000  ewes 


96  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

produce  85  per  cent,  of  Lambs,  which  ordinary  care  will  se- 
cure.    At  the  end  of  the  year  we  have  the  following  results  : 

Receipts. 

Capital  in  bucks  and  ewes, -  $13,600 

23,400  lbs.  of  wool  at  24c,             _________  5,616 

4,250  lambs,  85  per  cent,  of  ewes,  at  $1,            _______  4,250 

$23,466 
Expenses. 

4  herders  and  major  domo,  1  year,        _______     $1,320 

4  herders  4  months  extra,  --_--____       240 

Extra  help  shearing,      -_--______  j^Q 

Extra  help  and  material  in  dipping,  --_-.-.  50 

Extra  help  in  lambing,  -_-_-____  IOO 

Total  expenses,        -        -        -.-        -        -        -        -        -        -  $1,860 

Net  value  of  flock  at  end  of  the  year,  ______  $21,606 

Deduct  capital  in  ewes  and  bucks,  _______  13,600 

Net  profit  for  the  year,       -_-__---  $8,006 

This  shows  a  net  profit  of  a  trifle  less  than  60  per  cent,  on 
the  money  invested,  and  is  better  than  the  average  Vermont 
farming,  isn't  it,  reader  ?  But  you  will  observe  that  the  land 
costs  nothing^  It  is  free  herding,  but  as  there  is  an  abund- 
ance of  unoccupied  land,  and  as  most  of  the  sheep  men  are 
grazing  on  such,  the  estimate  is  proper.  I  have  allowed 
nothing  far  losses  in  accidents,  sheep  dying,  etc.,  and%  with 
ordinary  care  of  the  flock,  five  per  cent,  will  cover  that.  This 
leaves  a  net  profit  of  55  per  cent,  on  the  capital  invested.  A 
flock  of  10,000  gives  better  returns  than  a  smaller  one,  be- 
cause one  Major  domo  is  competent  to  superintend  that  num- 
ber of  sheep. 

That  these  figures  are  not  imagination  I  will  give  the  re- 

O  CO 

suit  of  one  flock,  where  I  have  seen  the  books.  Six  years 
ago  Chase  &  Dawson,  of  this  place,  invested  in  sheep  $7,500. 
Accurate  account  of  receipts  and  expenses  of  the  flock  has 
been  kept  every  year.  Should  they  sell  the  flock  at  what 
they  have  been  offered  for  it,  the  net  profits  of  that  $7,500 
would  now  be  $40,000.  This  is  a  trifle  over  88  per  cent,  a 
year  on  the  original  investment. 

Chase  &  Dawson's  flock  a  year  ago  numbered  11,700  ewes 


ON  CATTLE  RAISINO.  97 

and  wethers,  3,300  young  lambs  and  90  bucks.  Total  15,090. 
The  lambs  were  not  sheared,  of  course,  the  bucks  averaged 
to  shear  17  pounds  and  the  old  sheep  4  3-4  pounds.  The  to- 
tal expense  on  the  flock  for  the  year  was  $5,200.  The  bucks 
sheared  1,530  pounds,  the  old  sheep  55,675.  The  total  clip 
was  57,205  pounds,  sold  at  24  1-2  cents  a  pound,  amounting 
to  $14,015.  Add  to  this  sum  $3,600  for  the  3,600  new  lambs 
produced  by  the  ewes,  gives  $17,614.  Add  to  this  $3,300  for 
the  year's  growth  on  the  3,300  lambs  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  gives  $20,915  as  the  total  gross  profit  for  the  year.  De- 
duct $5,200  expenses,  and  it  leaves  a  net  profit  of  $15,715. 
Estimating  the  flock  of  old  sheep  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 
at  $2.50  each,  and  the  young  lambs  at  $1  each,  the  value  of  the 
flock  was  $32,775.  The  net  profit  was  48  per  cent,  of  capi- 
tal invested.  In  the  $5,200  expenses  is  reckoned  $800  paid 
for  bucks,  and  as  this  bill  comes. only  once  in  two  years,  this 
$800  should  really  be  extended  over  a  two  years  estimate. 
The  company  also  paid  $1,200  for  a  ranch,  which  was  also 
reckoned  in  the  $5,200  expenses.  The  actual  expense  of  the 
flock  was  about  $3,400.  Deducting  $3,400  from  the  gross 
profit  of  $20,915,  gives  a  net  profit  of  about  54  per  cent,  on  the 
capital  invested.  Mr.  Chase  claims  that  good  management 
and  an  average  season  will  give  the  sheep  raiser  in  New  Mex- 
ico a  sure  profit  of  50  or  60  per  cent,  on  his  investment,  and 
that  money  in  cattle  will  pay  about  10  per  cent,  less,  but  is 
not  quite  as  risky  as  money  in  sheep. 

If  you  prefer  cattle  to  sheep,  your  course  should  be  as  fol- 
lows :  buy  a  straight  bunch,  that  is,  a  herd  of  different  ages. 
By  so  doing  you  begin  to  receive  income  at  the  end  of  the 
first  year.  If  you  intend  to  continue  a  long  time  in  the  busi- 
ness, it  will  be  better  to  buy  your  land.  This  can  be  done 
by  bu3'ing  water  frontage  for  such  sized  herds  as  you  desire, 
and  the  range  will  not  cost  to  exceed  50  cents  an  acre  for  the 
amount  which  the  waterings  will  control.  If  you  want  to 
start  with  2,000  head,  you  will  aim  to  control  20,000  acres 
of  land,  which  will  cost,  say  $10,000.  Fence  the  range  with 
7 


98  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

wire,  which  will  cost  about  $2,000  more,  making  $12,000  in- 
vested in  range.  In  purchasing  a  straight  herd  of  2,000  head, 
buy  cows,  yearlings  and  two-years-old  steers.  The  propor- 
tion will  be  about  as  follows:  1,000  cows  and  two-years-old 
heifers,  650  yearling  steers  and  heifers,  and  350  two-years- 
old  steers.  Such  a  herd  will  cost  from  $14  to  $16  per  head,  on 
an  average.  Call  it  $15,  for  the  purpose  of  estimate,  and 
your  herd  stands  you  $30,000.  To  this  add  the  $12,000  for 
the  ranch,  and  capital  invested  is  $42,000.  We  will  say  you 
have  made  your  purchase  in  July,  when  some  of  the  cows 
have  calves  and  others  are  coming  in.  But  at  this  season  the 
cow  and  calf  are  reckoned  as  one,  whether  the  calf  is  born  or 
unborn. 

You  are  about  ready  to  begin.  But  first,  buy  eight  hor- 
ses, for  use  on  the  ranch,  at  a  cost  of  about  $400.  Now  brand 
your  cattle,  which  will  cost  $100,  and  turn  the  herd  into  the 
range.  One  man  will  be  the  regular  force.  He  will  have  a 
ranch,  a  mud  house  somewhere  in  the  pasture,  and  will  be 
required  to  ride  past  every  rod  of  the  wire  fence  daily,  to  re- 
pair breaks,  and  recapture  cattle,  if  any  have  escaped.  This 
service  will  require  four  horses,  for  he  will  ride  rapidly  and 
change  every  day.  The  other  four  horses  will  be  kept  for 
extra  help.  Cow  men  here  make  little  account  of  horses,  as 
their  keeping  is  inexpensive,  being  kept  on  the  range,  near 
headquarters.  Extra  .  help  on  a  cow  ranch  is  considered 
equal  to  one-fourth  of  one  man's  time. 

Some  time  in  August  the  cattle  are  rounded  up  by  four  rid- 
ers, a  few  hundred  at  a  time,  and  the  mother  cows  and  calves 
are  "cut  out" — separated  from  the  herd — corraled — and 
the  large  calves  are  branded ;  that  is,  the  owner's  peculiar 
mark  is  burned  into  the  hide.  Then  they  are  turned  loose 
again  with  the  herd.  This  process  occupies  about  four  days. 
In  November  the  same  process  is  repeated,  and  the  small 
calves  omitted  in  August  are  branded.  Your  mark  is 
now  on  the  entire  herd.  No  extra  work  is  required  until  De- 
cember,   when  the  beef  buyers  appear.       The  herd  is  then 


ON  CATTLE  RAISING.  99 

rounded  up  by  a  force  of  say  eight  men,  who  will  ride  two 
days  and  round  up  the  whole  pasture — get  all  the  cattle  into 
one  bunch — and  cut  out  the  beef  cattle  for  sale. 

Now  for  the  profits.  The  number  of  beeves  sold  out  of  a 
herd  of  2,000  head  would  be  about  350,  and  would  consist  of 
all  the  three  and  the  best  of  the  two-years-old  steers.  They 
will  bring  in  ordinary  seasons  an  average  of  $25  apiece,  or  a 
total  of  $8,750.  The  expense  for  the  year  will  be  $450  for 
the  regular  man,  at  $30  a  month,  and  an  occasional  helper, 
$125  for  board,  $40  for  interest  on  the  $400  for  the  eight 
horses,  and  $100  for  horse  feed  and  incidentals.  This  esti- 
mate is  liberal.  Total  expenses  $715.  Deduct  this  from  the 
receipts,  $8,750,  leaves  $8,035,  or  a  trifle  over  19  per  cent, 
interest  as  net  profit  on  the  capital  invested.  Not  so  very  re- 
markable, after  all,  you  say.  But  the  story  is  not  yet  all  told. 
Compare  the  size  of  your  herd  at  the  beginning  with  the  size 
at  the  end  of  the  year.  The  estimate  is  that  1,000  cows  will 
produce  80  per  cent,  of  that  number  of  calves.  In  order  to 
be  on  the  safe  side,  make  it  75  per  cent.,  which  gives  you  750 
calves  to  be  added,  making  the  herd  at  the  end  of  the  year 
2,750  in  number.  From  that  number  deduct  the  350  beeves 
sold  out,  leaves  2,400  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  year. 
At  $15  a  head  your  herd  of  2,000  was  worth  $30,000,  and, 
at  the  same  estimate  your  herd  of  2,400  is  worth  $36,000, 
Add  this  $6,000  increased  value  of  the  herd,  to  the  $8,035 
net  receipts,  gives  $14,035  as  the  real  profit  of  the  first  year, 
or  a  fraction  less  than  34  per  cent,  interest  on  the  money  in- 
vested. 

This  estimate  is  made  on  the  basis  that  the  herder  has  pur- 
chased his  land,  the  purchase  money  being  reckoned  in  with 
the  cost  of  the  herd,  and  so  far  swelling  the  capital  invested. 
In  free  herding,  which  in  times  past  has  been  most  common, 
no  capital  was  invested  inland,  and  the  profit  was  consequent- 
ly larger.  This,  too,  is  the  profit  of  the  first  year.  The 
second  year  will  give  equal  per  cent,  profit  on  the  increased 
value  of  the  herd,  the  third  the  same.     It  is  like  compound 


100  THE  EDITOR' S\RUN. 

interest,  every  year  the  increase  goes  on  drawing  interest. 
On  a  five  years  estimate  the  profit  will  amount  to  more  than 
an  average  of  60  per  cent,  a  year  on  the  original  investment. 

The  general  estimate  of  the  country  is  that  cattle  raising 
pays  a  profit,  over  and  above  all  expenses,  of  50  per  cent,  per 
annum,  and  that  no  investment  can  he  more  sure  to  meet  ex- 
pectation. I  know  of  one  case  where  a  large  investment  was 
made  in  cattle  a  year  ago,  and  the  same  cattle,  with  increase, 
growth,  and  rise  in  the  market,  could  now  be  sold  at  a  net 
profit  of  nearly  100  per  cent.  But  this  is  owing  to  fortunate 
buying,  extra  grazing  and  a  rise  in  the  market.  It  is  an  ex- 
ception to  the  general  rule. 

A  year  ago  last  February  H.  M.  Porter,  the  merchaut, 
bought  a  herd  of  600  cows,  with  600  calves,  coming  yearlings, 
by  their  side,  paying  $16.50  for  each  cow  with  its  calf.  In  the 
same  purchase  he  got  350  steers,  coming  two  years  old,  at  $9 
ahead,  making  the  entire  herd  cost  $12,900.  The  following 
January  he  sold  the  350  nine  dollar  steers  for  $16.50  each, 
getting  a  total  of  $5,775.  During  the  year  the  cows  brought 
another  crop  of  calves,  480  in  number,  which,  at  six  months 
old,  were  sold  for  veal  to  Denver  parties,  at  a  season  when 
veal  is  high.  They  brought  $9  a  head,  or  a  total  of  $4,320. 
The  total  sale  of  steers  and  calves  amounted  to  $10,095.  On 
delivery  of  the  animals  sold  he  failed  to  find  48  of  the  num- 
ber, which  were  "lost,  strayed  or  stolen,"  for  w^hich  was  de- 
ducted $624,  leaving  amount  of  receipts  for  the  sale  of  steers 
and  calves  $9,471.  After  this  sale  he  had  on  hand  the  cowrs 
and  calves,  coming  yearlings  at  time  of  purchase,  and  now 
coming  two  years  old.  Allowing  that  5  per  cent,  of  them 
were  lost,  he  had  570  cows,  worth  $13  apiece,  and  570  com- 
ing two  years  old,  worth  $10.50  apiece.  At  the  time  the 
steers  and  calves  wTere  sold,  the  remainder  of  the  herd  was 
therefore  worth  $12,395.  Add  to  this  the  money  obtained  for 
the  350  steers  and  the  veal  calves  sold,  gives  the  total  value 
of  receipts  of  the  herd  at  $21,866,  to  which  amount  the  $12,- 
900  had  grown  in  eleven  months.     Mr.  Porter  owned  his  ranch 


ON  CATTLE  RAISING.  101 

and  employed  two  men  during  the  time,  having  considerable 
extra  work  to  do  about  the  ranch  in  fencing,  repairing,  etc. 
This  extra  work,  interest  on*  $400  for  the  eight  horses,  board 
and  incidentals,  all  amounted  to  $926.  Deduct  this  from  gross 
value  of  receipts  and  herd,  $21,866,  leaves  the  net  value  $20,- 
940.  Deduct  capital  invested,  $12,900,  leaves  $8,040  as  the 
net  profit  for  the  eleven  months,  which  is  at  the  rate  of  68  per 
cent,  a  year. 

The  above  figures  show  the  opportunities  for  profitable  in- 
vestment in  stock  raising  in  New  Mexico.  I  have  taken  much 
pains  in  the  inquiry.  The  estimate  given  in  the  figures  in  the 
Porter  case  is  below  the  facts,  as  I  took  the  lowest  figures  giv- 
en in  receipts  and  the  highest  in  expenses. 

1  have  inquired  if  any  one  fails  in  the  stock  raising  business, 
and  am  told  that  the  instance  is  not  known  here  of  a  man  who 
embarks  in  the  business,  follows  it  legitimately,  avoiding  risky 
speculation,  and  fails  to  reap  a  handsome  profit.  The  Hall 
brothers,  after  fifteen  years  of  operation,  beginning  with  about 
$10,000,  have  just  sold  out  their  herd  and  ranch  for  $400,000, 
and  gone  to  Kansas  City  to  invest  in  real  estate  and  enjoy  their 
ease.  J.  E.  Temple  commenced  in  1869  with  seven  cows,  sold 
milk,  made  butter  and  grew  his  herd.  He  now  owns  an  extra 
ranch  and  about  1500  cattle,  and  can  sell  out  for  $50,000. 
Morrisey  &  McChristian  began  eight  years  ago  in  a  small  way, 
and  now  have  about  2000  head  and  a  good  ranch,  and  are  es- 
timated at  $50,000.  Old  Mr.  Dawson  and  son  started  14  years 
ago  with  13  cows  and  now  have  1300  head,  and  are  worth  $25,- 
000  at  least.  Mr.  Sculley,  an  Irishman,  started  with  nothing 
eight  years  ago,  and  now  has  a  ranch  and  700  head  of  cattle, 
and  is  worth  about  $16,000.  This  is  not  in  the  line  of  Jay 
Gould  profits,  to  be  sure,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  we 
are  speaking  of  a  line  of  industry  to  be  compared  with  east- 
ern farming,  and  not  with  eastern  stock  gambling,  trading,  man- 
ufacturing, or  other  middle  business.  The  stock  raiser  is  a  pro- 
ducer, and  his  profits  come  out  of  the  earth. 

The  advantage  in  New  Mexico  is  that  both  sheep  and  cattle 
are  raised  without  feeding,  and  are  not  liable  to  starve  to  death 


102  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN 

or  freeze  up  in  the  winter.  Above  the  divide,  in  Colorado  and 
Kansas,  feeding  is  seldom  resorted  to,  but  the  winters  are  oc- 
casionally so  severe  that  herds  suffer  and  die.  This  is  the  ad- 
vantage claimed  by  New  Mexico  operators.  Colorado  and 
Kansas  operators  claim  profit  trom  the  business,  the  same  as 
that  given  in  the  estimate  for  New  Mexico.  With  favorable  win- 
ters their  claim  is  realized,  but  in  a  series  of  years  they  will 
fall  behind  New  Mexico,  by  reason  of  the  occasional  severe 
winter. 

But  every  one  is  not  calculated  to  raise  stock,  and  if  a  msm 
is  doing  well  enough  on  his  Vermont  farm,  laying  by  some- 
thing every  year,  he  is  independent,  and  the  best  advice  we 
can  give  such  a  man  is  to  "let  well  enough  alone."  He  might 
come  here,  improve  himself  financially,  and  lose  his  enjoyment 
of  life  by  running  away  from  old  customs  and  old  associates. 
He  might  get  more  money  and  less  happiness.  As  everybody 
is  in  hot  pursuit  alter  the  next  dollar,  the  supposition  is  that 
when  that  dollar  is  overtaken  it  will  be  a  contributor  to  hap- 
piness. Haven't  you  lived  long  enough,  reader,  to  discover 
that  it  does  not  always  so  contribute?  Haven't  you  discover- 
ed that  accumulations,  beyond  the  rational  wants  of  life,  bring 
with  them  care,  annoyance  and  vexation  of  spirit  ?  Haven't 
you  discovered  that  a  fortune  which  removes  one  from  the  ne- 
cessity of  industry  removes  him  about  the  same  distance  from 
the  enjoyment  of  true  happiness  ?  Industry  and  happiness, 
like  the  Siamese  twins,  cannot  be  separated.  To  take  anoth- 
er view  of  the  case,  large  incomes,  aside  from  the  cares,  anxie- 
ties*and  perplexities  incident  thereto,  stimulate  wants,  breed 
discontent,  cultivate  avarice,  encourage  greed,  and  lead  the 
possessors  to  lose  sight  of  the  true  objects  of  life — the  culti- 
vation of  kindness,  benevolence,  geuerosity,  charity,  patience, 
love,  reverence,  and  all  those  better  qualities  which  constitute 
the  highest  type  of  manhood.  Real  wealth  consists  in  a  content- 
ed mind.  The  cobbler  on  his  bench,  with  a  disposition  to  whis- 
tle as  he  works,  who  appreciates  good  health,  enjoys  plenty  to 
do,  borrows  no  trouble,  loves  his  wife  and  children,  keeps  on 
pleasant  terms  with  bis  neighbors,  and  acts  and  deals  on  a  plan 


ON  REAL   WEALTH.  '  103 

to  secure  the  smiles  of  an  approving  conscience,  can  sing  the 
song  of  contentment  and  is  rich.  He  is  greatly  to  be  envied 
by  the  Goulds,  the  Vanderbilts  and  the  Stewarts,  who  have 
millions  of  surplus  money  deposited  in  the  bank  and  moun- 
tains of  solicitude  and  vexation  deposited  in  the  breast. 
Wealth  is  worth  what  it  contributes  to  rational  enjoyment,  and 
no  more. 

I  might  continue  in  this  strain  to  the  end  of  a  long  chapter, 
but  in  case  I  should  ever  secure  a  surplus  dollar,  and  then  be 
tempted  to  go  for  another,  it  might  be'embarrassing  to  have 
these  remarks  thrown  in  my  face.  I  feel  now  as  if  the  pursuit 
of  wealth,  as  a  primary  object  of  life,  dwarfs  the  better  quali- 
ties, belittles  manhood,  removes  the  underpinning  from  the 
pillar  of  true  enjoyment,  and  leaves  it  upon  a  foundation  of 
sand.  Should  I  ever  be  fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  New 
Mexico  ransre  and  get  a  herd  of  cattle  started,  it  is  possible 
this  feeling  may  undergo  a  change. 


104  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


Run  No.  15. 


THE  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS— LAND  GRANTS— WILLIAM  BENT— L.  B. 
MAXWELL— KIT  CARSON— MAXWELL'S  FIGHT  WITH  THE  INDIANS 
—HIS  FREIGHTING— SELLS  THE  GRANT  AFTER  THE  REBELLION- 
CHARACTER  OF  THE  MEXICAN— A  NEW  ELEMENT  IN  THE  TER- 
RITORY—OFFICIAL SCOUNDRELS  UNDER  GRANT'S  ADMINISTRA- 
TION—CONFUSION, DISORDER,  MOB  LAW  AND  REVOLVERS— ONE 
GOOD  RESULT— HOSPITALITY— CHANGE  IN  THE  CUSTOM  OF 
HERDING— SCRAMBLE  FOR  RANGE— EARLY  SETTLERS  IN  LUCK- 
RAILROADS. 


Cimarron,  N.  M.,  November  17,  1881. 

New  Mexico  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1848,  at 
the  close  of  the  Mexican  war,  at  which  time  it  was  a  waste 
country,  inhabited  principally  by  the  Apaches,  the  Utes,  the 
Navajos,.the  Pueblos,  a  lew  Mexicans,  and  an  occasional  pio- 
neer American.  There  was  unlimited  mineral  wealth  in  the 
mountains,  but  so  far  away  from  civilization  that  but  few  knew 
of  it.  The  only  attempts  at  mining  had  been  made  by  Span- 
iards, and  that  in  a  most  primitive  way.  Santa  Fe,  Taos,  and 
Moro  were  villages  of  some  importance,  inhabited  mainly  by 
Mexicans,  with  a  very  small  sprinkling  of  frontier  Americans. 
Albuquerque,  Socorro,  and  Las  Vegas  were  also  small  settle- 
ments of  later  growth.  Way  back  in  the  dark  ages  the  Tol- 
tecs,  a  highly  civilized  people,  inhabited  the  country,  and  evi- 
dences of  their  existence  and  advancement  in  art  and  science 
are  found  in  the  shape  of  buried  cities,  tools,  household  orna- 
ments, etc.  But  their  history  is  nowhere  recorded,  and  their 
character,  habits  and  advancement  are  matters  of  speculation. 
They  operated  long  before  Columbus  discovered  America,  and, 
as  their  existence  and  occupation  does  not  particularly  affect 


ON  LAND  GRANTS.  105 

the  price  of  grazing  prairie  and  corner  lots  in  the  villages  just 
springing  into  existence,  I  will  not  occupy  space  in  telling  you 
about  something  of  which  I  know  nothing. 

Some  editors  would  "let  on"  a  good  deal  about  these  people, 
but  my  Washington  hatchet  keeps  the  pencil  in  the  line  of  in- 
formation and  truth.  On  the  Dutchman's  principle  that  "Hon- 
esty ish  te  best  policy,  but  it  makes  te  man  tarn  poor,"  there  is 
danger  that  this  hatchet  may  some  time  hew  my  path  to  the 
poor  house.  I  am  aware  of  this  result,  but  some  how  I  can't 
throw  away  the  hatchet. 

Prior  to  the  Mexican  war,  numerous  grants  of  lands  had  been 
made  in  the  Territory  by  the  Mexican  government,  to  reward 
military  service,  to  colonies,  and  to  individuals,  all  of  which 
were  designed  to  induce  a  settlement  of  the  country.  The 
grant  to  Beaubien  and  Miranda,  in  this  corner  of  the  State,  and 
now  known  as  the  "Maxwell  grant,"  was  the  largest  made,  be- 
ing equivalent  to  about  60  miles  square.  Beaubien  was  a 
Mexican  settled  in  Taos,  but  his  grant,  just  west  ot  the  old 
Taos  Valley,  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Indians,  and  did  him 
little  good.  None  of  the  other  grants,  so  far  as  we  can  learn, 
were  occupied  by  the  grantees,  but  they  were  recorded,  and 
either  the  originals  or  their  heirs  are  now  getting  titles  con- 
firmed in  all  cases.  Congress  confirmed  several  of  these  old 
grants,  among  them  the  Maxwell,  years  ago,  but  has  within  a 
few  years  passed  a  law  that  no  grant  shall  be  confirmed  to  ex- 
ceed eleven  leagues  in  extent. 

As  early  as  1836  William  Bent  settled  in  the  south-eastern 
part  of  Colorado,  on  the  Arkansas  river,  and  became  a  famous 
Indian  man,  known  by  all  the  tribes  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  re- 
gion, and  was  a  sort  of  medium  of  trade  between  the  red  faces 
and  the  civilized  world  for  many  years.  At  a  later  day  the 
government  built  a  fort  on  his  settlement,  manned  it,  and  call- 
ed it  Bent's  fort. 

Not  far  from  1838  L.  B.  Maxwell  came  into  the  Territory  with 
a  company  of  trappers  from  Missouri.  He  was  but  14  years 
old,  but,  being  a  brave,  energetic  lad,  he  was  employed  by 
Beaubien  as  clerk  in  his  store  at  Taos.     In  the  course  of  a  few 


106  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

years  Maxwell  had  married  a  daughter  of  Beaubien,  and  thus 
secured  an  interest  in  the  grant.  In  a  few  years  more  he  had 
managed  to  buy  out,  for  a  promise  to  pay  less  than  $100,000, 
all  the  heirs  of  both  grantees,  and  thus  became  the  proprietor 
of  about  60  miles  square  of  the  territory,  which  now  bears  his 
name.  He  soon  became  the  most  prominent  man  in  the  Ter- 
ritory, as  a  mountain  guide,  an  Indian  trader,  a  land  owner,  a 
freighter,  etc. 

Kit  Carson,  a  little  younger  than  Maxwell,  came  to  Taos  from 
Missouri  not  long  alter  Maxwell  came,  and  the  two  were  al- 
ways fast  friends,  and  about  equally  influential  with  the  Indi- 
ans. It  was  through  these  two  men  that  Fremont,  soon  after 
the  Mexican  war,  became  so  famous  as  a  Rocky  Mountain  ex- 
plorer. On  his  first  trip  both  served  as  his  guides,  and  on  his 
second  Kit  went  alone,  and — you  have  seen  it  in  the  picture 
books — planted  the  United  States  flag  on  the  highest  pinnacle 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  After  he  got  through  with  Fremont, 
Kit  was  made  Indian  Agent,  and  the  ruins  of  his  old  store 
are  on  the  home  place  of  M.  M.  Chase,  within  40  rods  of  where 
1  am  now  writing.  Kit  was  a  little  man,  with  full  blue  eyes, 
light  complexion,  nervous,  quick  motion,  feminine  voice,  always 
talked  rapidly,  in  a  high  key,  and  reminded  one  of  an  Irish 
washerwoman  under  a  full  head  of  excitement.  He  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  but  he  was  an  earnest  man,  penetrat- 
ing, a  good  manager,  especially  of  the  Indians,  who  feared  and 
loved  him  at  the  same  time.  Kit  died  about  ten  years  ago,  at 
his  new  home  on  the  Arkansas  river,  in  Rent  county,  Colorado, 
where  the  government  had  given  him  a  tract  of  land  as  a  re- 
ward for  his  services.  His  wife  died  five  days  before  him.  and 
both  were  buried  on  their  Colorado  grant,  but  were  soon  after- 
wards taken  up,  brought  to  Cimarron  and  buried  in  Maxwell's 
yard,  where  they  laid  a  few  months,  when  the  Masonic  fraternity 
again  took  them  up,  carried  them  to  Taos,  60  miles  west,  and 
buried  them  in  the  home  of  their  first  settlement. 

Maxwell  continued  in  Taos  till  about  1856.  when  he  and 
Carson  made  a  settlement  on  Cimarron  cito,  four  miles  from 
the  present  village  of  that  name,  where  they  started  a  ranche, 


MAXWELL'S  FIGHT  WITH  INDIANS.  107 

intending  to  raise  stock  and  make  a  trading  post.  But  during 
the  year  they  had  several  fights  with  the  Apaches  and  were 
forced  to  vacate.  They  then  went  to  the  Rayado  river,  ten  miles 
from  the  present  Cimarron  Village,  where  they  fortified.  Max- 
well had  20,000  head  of  sheep,  owned  the  grant,  and  was  anx- 
ious to  secure  the  advantage  of  his  range.  The  Indians  op- 
posed, because  they  didn't  want  the  country  taken  up  by  the 
whites.  Having  fortified  himself,  Maxwell  managed  to  secure 
a  cannon  from  St.  Louis.  The  next  time  the  Indians  appeared, 
about  300  in  number,  they  commenced  hostilities  by  killing  one 
or  two  men  who  were  gathering  hay  near  the  fort.  They  then 
started  to  charge  on  the  fort,  when  Maxwell  opened  the  mouth 
of  that  cannon  with  a  noise  such  as  the  New  Mexico  red  faces 
had  never  heard  before.  It  was  loaded  with  grape,  and  open- 
ed a  path  right  through  them,  tearing  16  of  the  number  into 
strings.  No  ubunch"  of  Indians  were  ever  more  surprised  or 
more  prompt  in  a  scramble  for  concealment.  After  this  they 
thought  Maxwell  was  in  some  way  allied  with  the  Supreme 
Being,  and,  excepting  an  occasional  brush  with  some  stray  war 
scout,  he  was  unmolested.  Maxwell's  force  was  less  than  25 
men,  consisting  of  two  or  three  whites,  a  lew  Mexicans  in  his 
service,  and  a  few  pions,  or  Mexican  young  men  bought  and 
owned,  according  to  a  custom  then  prevailing  in  the  Territory. 
In  1858  Maxwell  removed  from  the  Rayado,  built  a  store  on 
the  Cimarron  river,  around  which  the  village  of  that  name 
sprung  up.  From  this  time  on  he  did  a  very  heavy  frontier 
business,  taking  government  contracts  to  supply  forts,  trading 
with  Indians,  freighting,  etc. 

The  only  opening  to  civilization  was  at  Kansas  City,  720  miles 
distant,  from  which  point  Maxwell  got  his  goods  by  ox  team, 
following  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail,  or  stage  route  from  Kansas 
City  to  Santa  Fe,  opened  in  1850.  It  was  a  four  months  trip, 
requiring  two  months  each  way.  He  owned  one  train  of  26 
big  teams,  of  six  oxen  each,  which  made  one  and  sometimes 
two  trips  a  year,  and  he  would  often  buy  up  other  teams,  fre- 
quently stocking  his  store  with  $100,000  worth  of  goods.  In 
1876  Maxwell  sold  his  grant  for  $650,000  to  a  company  of  Eng- 


108  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

lish  gentlemen,  who  mortgaged  it  to  a  Holland  company,  and, 
after  a  considerable  litigation,  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  another 
company,  of  which  F.  R.  Sherwin,  of  Cimarron,  is  the  princi- 
pal member.  We  have  in  a  previous  letter  given  an  account 
of  this.  Maxwell  lived  and  held  the  most  prominent  business 
position  in  the  Territory  till  1877,  when  he  died  suddenly,  at 
the  age  of  53  years.  Maxwell  was  of  medium  height,  thick 
set,  eccentric,  sort  of  half  Indian  and  half  white,  possessing 
great  powers  of  endurance  and  a  heart  as  big  as  an  ox.  He 
was  a  natural  born  pioneer.  A  true  record  of  his  history 
would  make  a  good  sized  and  extremely  interesting  volume. 

It  was  not  till  after  the  Avar  of  the  rebellion  that  New  Mex- 
ico attracted  much  attention  from  the  stock  raising  world.  In 
1866  the  Texans,  who  had  previously  made  their  tall  drives  of 
cattle  through  the  Indian  Territory,  delivering  them  at  Wichi- 
ta, Kan.,  opeued  a  trail  through  this  Territory,  and  over  the 
Raton  mountain  to  Colorado.  At  this  time  Mexicans  had 
"squatted"  in  the  Territory,  lived  in  mud  houses,  or  dug-outs, 
and  were  raising  a  few  cattle  or  sheep,  but  they  were  an  ignor- 
ant, indolent,  dirty  class  of  people,  with  no  desire  or  ability  to 
advance,  a  trine  above  the  Indians  in  civilization,  less  reliable 
in  point  of  manhood,  and  quite  as  unfriendly  to  Americans 
crossing  the  Territory.  The  Texans  were  compelled  to  send 
their  drives  with  sufficient  force  to  prevent  thieving  from  the 
Mexicans  and  plundering  from  the  savages,  and  in  several  in- 
stances this  force,  proving  insufficient,  whole  herds  were  cap- 
tured and  the  drivers  killed. 

The  reader  must  not  understand  that  all  Mexicans  were  of 
the  class  described.  A  few  were  educated  men,  lived  in  lux- 
ury and  refinement,  and  accumulated  large  wealth.  But  they 
were  exceptions  in  the  population.  Possessing  ambition,  with 
comprehension  of  opportunities,  and  ability  to  organize  enter- 
prize  and  industry,  they  became  wealthy  by  trade,  or  by  rais- 
ing large  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep.  They  furnished  their  hou- 
ses with  elegance,  sent  their  children  away  to  school,  and  were 
really  nobles,  surrounded  by  a  population  ignorant,  idle,  indif- 
ferent to  individual  elevation  and  public  progress,  and  with  a 


OFFICIAL  RASCALITY.  109 

propensity  to  steal  which  taxed  the  constant  vigilance  of  all 
owners  of  portable  property. 

The  result  of  opening  the  new  trail  was  to  make  known  to 
cattle  men  the  capacity  of  New  Mexico  for  stock  grazing.  A 
new  element,  consisting  of  ambitious  stock  men,  came  into  the 
Territory  and  started  their  herds.  The  only  expense  in  raising 
cattle  consisted  in  looking  alter  them.  Loose  herding  prevailed  ; 
that  is,  everybody,  after  putting  their  mark  upon  their  animals, 
turned  them  loose  upon  the  prairie,  to  run  where  they  would. 
At  certain  periods  everybody  turned  out  on  a  "round  up" 
expedition,  rounding  up  a  country  some  miles  in  extent,  when 
each  man  would  cut  out  his  own  cattle,  sell  his  beef,  brand  his 
young  cattle,  and  let  them  go  again.  Then  they  would  round 
up  another  section  of  country,  cut  out,  sell,  and  brand,  and  so 
on.  Many  animals  were  lost  and  stolen  under  this  system,  but, 
notwithstanding  all  pull-backs,  the  profits  paid  largely  and  the 
business  kept  growing. 

But  during  Grant's  administration  the  territory  fell  into  dis- 
order by  reason  of  the  territorial  officials,  under  the  lead  of 
lawyer  Steve  Elkins  ol  Santa  Fe,  U.  S,  district  attorney,  Tom 
Catron,  of  Santa  Fe,  et  al,  attempting  to  steal  the  power.  They 
operated  through  congress,  the  territorial  legislature  and  the 
courts,  to  control  the  power  in  their  own  interests,  as  against 
the  welfare  of  the  people.  Grant  appointed  Ax  tell  governor, 
who  proved  to  be  a  tool  of  the  corrupt  official  ring,  and  even 
went  so  far  as  to  lay  plans  to  import  Mormons  and  get  the  ter- 
ritory admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  Mormon  state.  Great  con- 
fusion followed  and  resistance  to  unjust  enactments  was  every- 
where met  with.  A  state  of  anarchy  reigned  for  several  years, 
and  every  man's  revolver  was  his  only  protection.  In  the 
course  of  four  years,  ending  in  1878,  eleven  men  were  shot 
dead  in  the  little  bar  room  of  the  Cimarron  hotel,  and  not  a  sol- 
itary one  of  the  murderers  was  punished,  unless  by  violence 
from  friends  of  some  of  the  murdered  parties.  There  was  no 
law  which  could  be  executed.  Shooting  was  an  every  day  oc- 
currence here  and  in  other  inhabited  parts  of  the  territory.  As 
an  offshoot  of  the  -  political  disorder,  there  grew  up  a  gang  of 


110  TBE  EDITOR'S  JJCW. 

desperadoes,  who  prowled  about  cattle  herds,  intimidating  cow 
boys,  stealing  cattle,  and  indulging  in  occasional  wanton  and 
promiscuous  murder.  Everybody  went  armed,  to  shoot  at  a 
moment's  warning,  and  it  was  worth  quite  as  much  as  the 
great  profits  of  stock  raising  promised,  for  one  to  risk  his  prop- 
erty and  try  to  live  in  the  territory.  A  class  of  brave  cow 
boys  sprang  into  existence,  who  had  the  courage  to  stand  up 
for  their  rights  and  maintain  title  to  their  cattle  at  the  point 
uf  the  revolver.  So  far  was  this  maintainance  of  rights  car- 
ried that  a  cow  boy  of  to-day  cannot  claim  a  first  class  rank 
in  his  profession,  except  by  proof  of  having  sent  some  poor  cuss 
to  his  judgment  account. 

The  people  who  stood  their  ground  had  to  fight  the  corrupt 
officials,  the  thieving  Indians  and  Mexicans,  and  the  despera- 
does, who  in  many  cases  were  in  the  service  of  the  official 
ring,  until  President  Hayes  sent  a  man  into  the  territory  to 
investigate  the  inwardness  of  affairs.  He  removed  .Axtill  and 
appointed  Geo.  Lew  Wallace  governor,  and  this  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  end  of  chaos,  and  the  beginning  of  the  growth 
of  law  for  the  protection  of  person  and  property.  But  the 
growth  is  not  yet  fully  accomplished.  The  cow  boy  and  aver- 
age citizen  carries  his  revolver  by  his  side,  and  not  unfrequent- 
ly  has  occasion  to  use  it.  Tolerable  order  prevails  here,  but 
further  south,  in  the  vicinity  of  Deming,  Silver  City.  Socorro, 
and  other  towns,  cow  thieves  and  desperadoes  still  infest  the 
mountains,  and  render  the  actual  value  of  person  and  property 
fifty  per  cent,  or  more  under  par.  Billy  the  Kid  was  the  last 
prominent  desperado  to  bite  the  dust,  but  thieves  and  villains 
of  a  lesser  order  are  passing  in  their  checks  somewhere  in  the 
territory  every  day  or  two. 

One  good  thing  has  resulted  from  the  revolver  law ;  people 
have  learned  to  respect  each  other's  rights,  to  avoid  trespass, 
and  to  discharge  their  just  obligations  without  the  intervention 
of  the  courts.  There  is  a  better  standard  of  honor  and  better 
credit  among  business  men  here  than  in  the  east,  where  the 
courts  are  relied  upon  to  enforce  contracts"  and  punish  misbe- 
haviour.    Stock  men  are  every  day  making  verbal  contracts, 


BUSINESS  INTEGRITY  AND  HOSPITALITY.  Ill 

from  small  sums  to  $50,000,  with  no  written  evidence  between 
them — nothing  but  their  word.  If  a  business  man  goes  back 
on  his  word,  he  is  out  of  caste,  and  must  leave  the  country  or 
discontinue  business,  as  nobody  will  deal  with  him.  He  is 
thoroughly  despised,  and  if  a  stray  bullet  happens  to  take  him 
off,  there  are  but  few  mourners,  and  nobody  to  enter  complaint. 
What  a  terrible  state  of  public  opinion  to  dead  beats  that 
would  be,  should  it  prevail  in  Vermont  and  other  Eastern  States. 
We  allude  to  newspaper  skunks,  et  id  omne  genus. 

A  sort  of  open-heartedness  prevails  here,  too,  especially 
among  stock  men,  which  is  in  pleasing  contrast  with  what  is 
found  in  the  East.  Every  man's  latch  string  is  out,  and  the 
hospitalities  of  the  house  are  always  tendered  to  the  caller. 
Our  quartette  has  frequently  called  at  the  door  of  a  humble 
looking  log  cabin  or  mud  house,  the  home  of  some  stock  own- 
er, and  asked  for  accommodation  for  four  horses  and  four  men 
— hearty  men,  too — always  getting  filled  in  good  shape,  and 
never  having  found  anybody  about  the  establishment  to  make 
change.  Stock  men  will  not  make  money  by  selling  victuals 
or  squeezing  nickels. 

Since  the  advent  of  the  A.  T.  &  S.  F.  railroad,  two  and  a 
half  years  ago,  the  territory  has  been  steadily  gaining  in  pop- 
ulation, by  the  addition  ot  business  men  from  various  States, 
and  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  New  Mexico  will  grow  into 
an  important  unit  in  this  Union  of  states  and  territories.  This 
is  among  the  certainties  of  the  future.  The  wealth  of  the 
mines,  the  fertility  of  the  valleys,  the  immense  sweep  of  fine 
grazing,  the  constant  sunshine,  and  the  health-giving  altitude, 
extend  an  invitation  to  population  and  capital  which  will  not 
be  declined. 

An  important  change  in  the  custom  of  herding  has  been 
made  within  two  or  three  years.  Loose  herding  is  going  in- 
to disuse,  and  most  stock  men  are  securing  title  to  their  ranff- 
es  and  enclosing  them  with  wire  fence.  This  costs  money, 
but  is  a  great  protection  against  thieves,  and  the  loss  of  stock 
in  other  ways  ;  it  saves  a  large  bill  of  annual  expense,  gives 
the  owner  entire  control  of  his  herd,  and  enables  him  to  hold 


112  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

his  stock  to  sell  on  a  good  market.  Under  the  system  of 
loose  herding,  he  was  compelled  to  sell  after  the  general  round 
up,  or  go  to  the  expense  of  holding  his  cattle  together  till 
such  time  as  he  might  choose  to  sell. 

Since  enclosing  the  ranges  came  into  use,  companies  are 
being  formed  by  which  means  more  land  and  more  stock  is 
brought  under  one  controj.  There  is  a  general  scramble  for 
ranges,  both  in  company  and  individual  capacity.  Senator 
Dorsey,  of  the  Star  route  ring,  has  put  that  talent  which  stole 
the  mail  routes  at  work,  and  has  secured  the  largest  individ- 
ual range  in  the  Territory,  equivalent  to  40  miles  square,  just 
east  of  the  Maxwell  grant.  Of  the  thirty  or  forty  grants  in 
the  Territory  but  few  of  them  are  confirmed  by  Congress, 
and  there  is  consequently  a  scramble  and  confusion  to  get 
possession  of  them.  As  yet  private  and  public  affairs  of  the 
Territory  are  in  an  unsetted  state.  Everything  is  new  and 
in  process  of  formation,  but  the  next  few  years  will  restore 
order  out  of  chaos. 

Those  who  came  into  the  Territory  a  dozen  years  ago  and 
had  the  good  luck  to  pull  through  the  rough  times  alive,  and 
the  foresight  to  comprehend  that  grazing  would  some  time  be 
very  valuable,  have  secured  territory  at  a  normal  price,  fenced 
it,  and  are  now  in  a  condition  to  raise  cattle  at  a  small  per 
cent,  of  what  they  cost  in  the  east.  If  an  eastern  farmer 
could  have  his  hay  and  his  grass  furnished  free,  he  would  be 
in  condition  to  compete  with  the  New  Mexico  stock  raiser 
But  as  it  is,  he  must  emigrate,  or  be  content  with  a  small 
per  cent,  of  the  profits  incident  to  the  business  here. 

Two  years  and  a  half  ago  the  first  railroad,  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe,  entered  the  Territory,  and  is  now 
completed  through  it  to  El  Passo,  in  Old  Mexico.  Two 
Pacific  coast  lines  have  since  been  completed,  the  Southern 
Pacific,  commencing  with  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe 
at  Deming,  in  the  southern  part,  and  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific, 
connecting  at  Alberquerque,  in  the  central  part.  The  Den- 
ver and  Rio  Grande  enters  a  hundred  miles  west  of  the  Atchi- 


RAILROADS.     .  118 

son,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  and  will  soon  make  connections  at 
Santa  Fe.  The  Denver  and  New  Orleans  is  in  process  of  con- 
struction, and  will  run  west  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  San- 
ta Fe  as  far  as  Vegas,  and  pass  through  the  Territory  east  of 
that  line.  The  Texas  and  Pacific  is  also  in  process  of  con- 
struction and  will  soon  cross  the  lower  part  of  the  Territory. 
Other  roads  are  projected,  and  in  a  few  years  the  stock  men 
and  miners  of  the  Territory  will  be  in  easy  communication 
with  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  New  Mexico  boom  has 
but  just  begun,  and  those  who  improve  the  present  opportu- 
nity and  get  located  will  be  in  luck,  and  receive  the  benefit 
of  increasing  valuation  incident  to  rapid  growth. 


114  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN, 


Run  No.  16. 


A  SNOW  STORM— THE  QUARTETTE  MAKE  ANOTHER  TRIP— MEXICAN 
HOUSES— THE  PENITENTE  CHURCH— MEXICAN  FARMIN.G— A 
CHANGE  OF  COURSE— MRS.  STUBBLEFIELD  AS  A  STOCK  RAISER— 
FOLSOM  AND  THE  GOVERNOR  TOO  PARTICULAR— AUNT  KIT  AND 
UNCLE  GAD— LONGING  FOR  CHURCH— SPRINGER— J.  S.  TAYLOR'S 
RANCH — ANTELOPES — WAGON  MOUND — PINKERTON'S  SHEEP 
RANCH. 


Wagon  Mound,  N.  M.,  November  22,  1881. 

New  Mexico  has  just  been  visited  by  the  largest  snow  storm 
ever  known  by  the  oldest  inhabitant.  A  week  ago  last  Mon- 
day snow  commenced  to  fall  and  continued  till  the  following 
Friday,  when  22  inches  covered  the  ground.  We  had  vari- 
ous trips  in  contemplation,  but  the  snow  spoiled  the  going  and 
we  were  virtually  under  an  embargo  for  a  week  or  more.  It  is 
not  common  at  this  season  to  have  snow  continue  on  the  ground 
beyond  two  or  three  days,  and  as  soon  as  the  sun  appeared 
Friday  morning  I  was  assured  that  two  days  would  see  the' 
last  of  it.  But  it  hung  on,  was  a  full  week  leaving  the  prai- 
rie, and  still  hangs  in  the  foot  hills.  The  roads  are  not 
quite  in  traveling  condition  yet,  but  in  the  low  stretches  of 
the  prairie  moisture  remains,  and  the  carriage  wheels  lift  im- 
mense quantities  of  adobe  mud  and  forget  to  drop  it  until  each 
wagon  wheel  is  as  bulky  as  the  wagon  body  itself. 

A  wagon  trip  contemplated  to  the  lower  ranch,  150  miles 
to  the  south-east,  was  given  up  on  account  of  the  delay  made 
by  the  storm.  As  a  substitute,  however,  the  quartette  ar- 
ranged  for  a  trip  of  50  miles  in  the  same  direction,  passing 


THE  PENETENTES.  115 

over  the  Nolan  grant,  in  which  Folsom  is  interested,  and  con- 
necting with  the  railroad  at  Wagon  Mound.  We  got  off  in  good 
shape  Friday,  at  11  o'clock,  and,  passing  down  the  Cimarron 
river,  made  a  discovery.  Although  this  locality  was  in  sight 
of  our  frequent  drives,  I  had  never  before  dreamed  it  was  in- 
habited. In  the  ride  of  five  miles  we  passed  about  50  Mexi- 
can residences,  square  mud  boxes,  about  eight  feet  high,  and 
of  different  lengths  and  widths.  I  had  heretofore  taken  these 
objects  to  be  clumps  of  earth,  but  in  several  of  them  we  found 
families  of  ten  or  a  dozen  children  in  regular  gradation  of 
size,  from  a  foot  to  four  feet  in  length. 

At  the  lower  end  of  the  habitations  we  found  the  Penitente 
church,  a  mud  house,  some  eight  feet  high,  surrounded  by  a 
mud  wall  of  equal  height,  enclosing  about  an  acre  of  ground. 
You  would  like  to  hear  a  word  about  this  denomination. 
They  are  Roman  Catholics,  believe  it  their  duty  to  punish 
themselves,  and  in  Lent  season  the  performance  begins.  The 
candidates  for  religious  honor  strip  themselves  to  the  waist 
and  march  around  certain  boundaries,  whipping  themselves 
with  cactus  plants,  soap  weeds,  or  some  other  thorny  lash, 
which  brings  the  blood  at  every  stroke.  The  performance  is 
continued  for  an  hour,  or  until  the  devotee  is  nearly  exhausted 
from  loss  of  blood.  They  then  shoulder  a  large  cross  of 
green  wood,  very  heavy,  and  march  around  a  certain  bounda- 
ry to  the  church.  There  is  considerable  ceremony  in  the  per- 
formance, and  once  in  a  while  a  funeral  service  afterwards, 
as  it  frequently  happens  that  one  kills  himself  in  the  operation. 
After  the  performance  by  the  same  person  one,  two,  or  three 
years,  he  is  considered  sanctified  and  past  all  sinning.  Steal- 
ing cattle  after  that  is  no  sin.  It  is  a  peculiarity  only.  The 
wall  around  the  church  is  used  as  a  burying  ground,  the 
Priest  charging  from  $5  to  $200  for  a  hole  in  the  ground,  the 
price  being  graded  from  the  church  to  the  wall.  Ignorance 
keeps  this  custom  going,  in  spite  of  the  known  fact  that  the 
original  corpse  is  forgotten,  and  his  position  is  sold  over  and 
over  again  as  time  wears  on.     But  as  position  of  deposit  is  a 


116  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

sort  of  indicator  of  rank  and  possessions,  it  is  a  comfort  and 
pride  to  mourners  in  the  hour  of  funerals,  and  makes  a  good 
income  for  the  Priest. 

All  along  the  creek  bottom  the  Mexicans  have   little  farm 
patches,  but  are  particularly  careful   not  to   raise  any  more 
produce  than  barely  enough  to  support  the  family  for  a  year. 
They  calculate  on  300  pounds  of  corn  for  each  grown  person, 
and  150  pounds  for  each  child.     They  raise  also  a  little  crop 
of  oats,  wheat,  potatoes,  cabbages,  carrots,  etc.     But  all  their 
farming  depends  upon  irrigation,  the  dry  climate  and  soil  re- 
fusing to  return  even  the  seed  without  that  process.     Water 
is  brought  in  an  acequia  (ditch)  from  some  point  in  the  river 
above  the  altitude  of*  the  field,  at  an  average  expense  of  $100 
a  mile.     But  as  one  acequia  will  irrigate  a  neighborhood  of 
small   patches,   the  expense    falls  lightly  upon   each  owner. 
There  is    no. energy   and  but  little    intelligence    in    Mexican 
farming.      They   never  grub  a  bush,    never  fill  a  hole,  but 
simply  tear  up  the  ground  where  nature  has  left  it  ready  for 
the  plow,  put  in  their  seed,  regardless  of  crop  rotation,  and 
wait  patiently  for  the  harvest  time.     The  result,  in  the  shape 
of  either  a  good  or  poor  crop,  is  seldom  taken  as  a  lesson  for 
the  next  year. 

Leaving  the  Mexican  settlement,  we  crossed  the  prairie  to 
the  Springer  road,  and  when  15  miles  from  home  learned 
that  Mr.  Mauiding,  the  manager  of  the  lower  ranch,  in  which 
M.  M.  is  interested,  had  the  evening  before  arrived  at  Spring- 
er, and  had  passed  on  up  the  Vermejo.  All  our  plans  were 
changed,  as  M.  M.  had  to  see  him.  Turning  our  course 
north,  into  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail,  we  rode  ten  miles,  caught 
our  man,  and  continued  with  him  up  the  river  to  the  ranch  of 
one  Mrs.  Stubblefield,  where  five  men  and  six  horses  were 
welcomed  after  the  manner  of  the  western  stock  raiser. 

Mrs.  Stubblefield  came  here  with  her  husband  from  Kan- 
sas, six  years  ago,  and  started  with  twenty-six  cows  on  the 
free  prairie.  In  one  year  Stubblefield  was  killed  in  a  fight, 
leaving  a  wife,  a  half  dozen  small  children  and  that  little  herd 


FOLSOM  AND  THE  GOVERNOR  OBJECT.  117 

of  cattle.  Mrs.  Stubblefield  has  continued  the  business  to 
the  present  time,  and  now  has  600  head  of  cattle,  70  horses, 
and  a  half  dozen  children  not  so  small  as  they  were.  Mrs. 
Stubblefield's  establishment  consists  of  a  seven  feet  high  mud 
house,  with  two  rooms,  a  little  stable  of  similar  dimensions, 
and  a  corral.  But  humble  as  it  was,  we  were  furnished  with  a 
supper  of  juicest  beef  steak,  the  best  of  bread,  with  various 
accompaniments,  and  received  a  pressing  invitation  to  spend 
the  night.  There  was  room  in  the  house  for  the  mother,  the 
six  children  and  the  five  men,  but  as  Folsom's  mouth  was 
lame,  with  much  table  exercise,  he  objected  to  being  hung  up 
on  a  peg,  and  the  Governor  said  he  would  "be  darned  if  he 
would  sleep  under  the  bed  ;"  consequently  we  declined  the 
kindness  and  drove  live  miles  further,  to  Marion  LiterolPs,  in 
Chase  and  Dawson's  Vermejo  pasture,  where  Folsom,  the 
Governor  and  the  writer  stopped,  and  M.  M.  and  Maulding 
went  a  mile  further,  to  stop  with  Uncle  Miller  and  his  wife, 
Aunt  Kit,  who  are  spending  the  evening  of  life  in  a  comfort- 
able house  in  this  same  pasture.  Literoll  is  Chase  and  Daw- 
son's cow  boy,  lives  in  the  old  Santa  Fe  stage  company's 
house,  has  a  Chicago  wife  and  one  child,  and  in  this  lonely 
place  lives  in  perfect  harmony  and  contentment,  good  for 
nothing  except  as  a  cow  boy,  but  one  of  the  very  best  of  that 
fraternity.  After  a  good  supper  and  a  pleasant  evening  around 
the  bright  fire  place,  we  spread  our  blankets  in  the  porch,  and 
crawled  between  them  for  the  ni^ht. 

Saturday  was  devoted  to  eating  and  discussing  the  general 
interests  of  the  territory,  the  character  of  individual  roughs, 
stock-raising,  method  of  procuring  ranches,  etc.,  till  after 
supper,  when  we  packed  and  went  up  to  Aunt  Kit's,  to  re- 
main till  M.  M.  and  Maulding  could  complete  their  lower 
ranch  business.  This  ranch,  150  miles  to  the  south-east,  con- 
tains about  500,000  acres  of  grazing  land,  and  a  company  of 
six  members,  including  M.  M.  and  Maulding,  have  purchased, 
fenced  and  stocked  it.  Maulding,  who  is  the  field  manager, 
has  just  arrived  in  advance  of  a  drive  of  1,500  beeves,  which 


118  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

the  company  have  sold  off.  Business  connected  with  this 
sale  and  the  general  management  of  the  company,  is  what  has 
thrown  the  quartette  out  of  course. 

But,  reader,  you  should  know  Aunt  Kit,  75  years  old,  and 
her  graceful  consort,  Uncle  Gad,  77.  Uncle  Gad  says  he  has 
lived  with  that  "homely  old  thing"  just  100  years,  and  that 
when  she  dies  he  is  going  to  stand  her  up  behind  the  door 
with  the  broomstick.  This  is  Uncle  Gad's  humorous  allusion 
to  the  shrunken  proportions  of  his  better  half.  But  Aunt 
Kit  never  jokes  back.  She  takes  it  all  good-naturedly.  "It's 
only  Gad's  foolishness."  Gad  started  in  "Old  Virginny,"  com- 
menced his  emigration  when  a  boy,  stopped  first  in  "Old 
Kaintuck,"  where  he  met  and  married  Kit, — "she  was  a  good- 
looking  gal  then,  Kit  was," — and  in  a  few  years  they  moved 
to  Missouri.  When  that  State  became  uncomfortably  crowd- 
ed, they  hitched  up  the  mules  and  traveled  to  Arkansas, 
where  they  made  a  stay  of  several  years,  and  Gad  got  elected 
to  the  Legislature.  He  served  two  terms,  and  spent  his  time 
dodging  bowie  knives  and  six  shooters,  then  took  Kit  and  the 
mules,  and  pushed  far  back  into  Texas.  Here  they  made 
another  long  stop,  but  after  a  while  neighbors  moved  in 
within  15  or  20  miles.  Gad  felt  crowded,  and  they  moved  up 
to  Colorado,  where  there  was  no  crowd  or  interruption,  except 
from  the  wild  game.  Civilization  crept  in  there,  and  Gad 
and  Aunt  Kit  made  one  more  effort  for  elbow  room,  pulling 
up  in  New  Mexico,  where  they  are  spending  their  evening  of 
life  in  the  Vermejo  pasture,  and,  with  friends  in  abundance, 
they  will  never  suffer  for  the  necessaries  of  life.  They  are 
honest,  old-fashioned  people,  hard-shelled  Baptists,  speak  the 
Texas  dialect,  with  "thar,"  "whar,''  "befo,"  etc.,  in  the 
broadest  style.  They  respect  the  Sabbath  day,  though  they 
have  fallen  into  a  locality  where  it  is  difficult  to  "remember"  it. 
The  evening  was  spent  in  listening  to  Uncle  Gad's  legislative 
exploits  and  pioneer  experiences,  interspersed  with  comments 
and  opinions  from  Aunt  Kit.  It  was  a  joke  on  the  part  of  M. 
M.,  when  he  slyly  requested  me  to  draw  Uncle  Gad  out  on 


UNCLE  GAD  AND  HIS  LEGISLATURE.  119 

his  legislative  experience.  Having  got  him  started  there  were 
no  brakes  to  check  him  and  no  rudder  to  guide  him.  We 
were  elected  for  two  sessions  of  the  Legislature,  including 
Gad's  speeches,  two  or  three  duels,  and  a  variety  of  knock- 
downs on  the  floor  of  the  House,  together  with  Gad's  opin- 
ion of  that  sort  of  legislation.  At  10  o'clock  Uncle  Gad  lis- 
tened to  Aunt  Kit's  advice,  and  surrendered  the  floor.  The 
fireplace  was  supplied  with  a  new  stock  of  wood,  and  we  all 
spread  our  blankets  on  the  floor,  and  retired  for  the  night, 
with  nothing  to  disturb  us,  except  an  occasional  explosion  from 
the  Governor's  nasal  organ. 

I  should  have  been  glad  Sunday  morning  to  go  to  church, 
but  I  have  not  yet  seen  a  steeple  in  the  territory,  nor  a  per- 
son whose  dress  or  deportment  reminds  me  when  the  old 
week  ends  or  the  new  one  begins.  Perhaps  I  should  make 
an  exception  of  Aunt  Kit,  who  remarked  this  morning  that  a 
"heap  of  preachin"  was  soon  to  be  supplied  by  a  man  from 
Raton,  who  is  expected  to  hold  a  two  day's  meeting  at  her 
house. 

After  a  good  breakfast  of  venison,  beef,  and  the  usual  ac- 
companiments, we  hitched  up  and  were  off.  But  it  was  11 
o'clock,  and  at  5  we  reached  Springer,  where  we  stopped  for 
the  night.  Here  we  found  the  hotel  much  improved  since 
our  first  stop,  owing,  probably,  to  the  fact  that  another  hotel 
— an  adobe — had  been  opened.  Competition  is  the  life  of 
trade,  and  is  certainly  a  great  convenience  to  the  traveling 
public. 

Springer  is  ambitious  to  be  an  important  town  in  New 
Mexico,  but  with  Raton  35  miles  north,  and  Las  Vegas  77 
miles  south,  both  growing  points,  Springer  must  not  set  her 
hopes  too  high.  She  has  one  large  store,  Porter  &  Clothier, 
and  two  or  three  little  ones,  and  gets  trade  from  miners  and 
stock  men  40  miles  west  and  125  miles  east.  She  is  also  am- 
bitious to  get  the  county  seat  of  Colfax  county,  and  is  not 
without  hope  of  success,  in  which  case  her  hope  of  future  im- 
portance would  be  on  good  foundation. 


120  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

We  parted  company  here  with  Mr.  Maulding,  who  started 
for  the  lower  ranch  Monday  morning.  M.  M.  and  the  Gov- 
ernor left  for  Cunningham's,  14  miles  southeast,  on  the  Nolan 
grant,  while  Folsom  and  the  Editor  rode  with  J.  S.  Taylor 
and  H.  R.  Warner  to  Taylor's  ranch,  7  miles  east.  On  ar- 
riving at  the  ranche  we  visited  Taylor's  sulphur  spring,  drank 
a  bucket  or  two  of  the  water,  and  were  cured  of  all  our  ail- 
ments. Mr.  Taylor  is  one  of  the  territorial  surveyors,  wi,th 
office  at  Santa  Fe,  but  has  a  ranch  of  50,000  acres,  and  one 
of  the  best  equipped  I  have  yet  seen.  He  has  a  good  abobe 
house,  well  furnished,  a  large  barn  and  stable,  and  is  the  first 
ranch  man  I  have  visited  who  makes  provision  for  sheltering 
tools.  He  has  35  miles  of  good  wire  fence,  which  cost  $225 
a  mile,  2,500  cattle,  200  horses,  and  is  splendidly  equipped 
for  making  money  and  enjoying  life.  Mr.  Warner  is  in  his 
service  as  surveyor,  and,  though  getting  $125  a  month,  he 
suffers  much  from  the  cattle  mania.  Wages,  he  thinks,  are 
of  little  account  so  long  as  cattle  raising  offers  so  great  prof- 
its, and  he  is  now  saving  his  money  and  watching  his  oppor- 
tunity to  obtain  a  ranch  and  join  the  cow  boys.  Mr.  War- 
ner is  from  Hardwick,  Vt.,  has  been  in  New  Mexico  two 
years,  and  says  there  isn't  money  enough  in  Vermont  to  hire 
him  to  £0  back  there  to  farming  and  take  the  run  of  the  Ver- 
mont  climate. 

After  dinner  we  rode  to  the  lower  end  of  Mr.  Taylor's 
ranche,  7  miles  distant  from  the  house,  to  Mr.  Cunningham's, 
where  we  met  M.  M.  and  the  Governor,  who  had  killed  an 
antelope  on  their  trip,  and  had  him  strapped  to  the  axletree 
of  their  wagon. 

Cunningham  lives  in  a  delightful  basin  of  the  Nolan  grant, 
now  owned  by  the  Red  river  company,  and  is  making  arrange- 
ments to  vacate.  He  is  in  a  country  where  antelopes  abound, 
and  reports  that  one  morning  during  the  late  snow  220  of 
those  beautiful  animals  appeared  in  a  bunch,  within  rifle  shot 
of  his  house.  Spending  the  afternoon  on  this  ranch,  I  re- 
turned in  the  evening  with  Taylor  and  Warner,  leaving  the 


ON  PINKERTON  S  SHEEP  RANCH.  121 

three  lesser  members  of  the  quartette  in  charge  of  Mr.  Cun- 
ningham, to  cross  the  grant  to  Wagon  Mound  in  the  morning. 

Next  morning  (Tuesday)  we  drove  to  Springer,  where 
Taylor  took  the  train  for  Santa  Fe,  and  Warner  and  T  for 
Wagon  Mound,  20  miles  down  the  line.  On  the  way  we 
passed  several  bunches  of  antelopes,  which  kept  Warner's  six 
shooter  in  steady  demand,  but  with  no  other  result  than  a 
little  expense  to  Warner  for  ammunition.  We  arrived  at 
Wagon  Mound  at  10  o'clock,  and,  finding  the  entire  village 
to  be  composed  of  seven  mud  houses  of  the  Mexican  persua- 
sion, eight  feet  high,  flat  top  and  box  form,  we  crossed  the 
railroad  track  40  rods,  and  called  up  to  the  adobe  house  of 
William  Pinkerton,  an  Englishman.  Pinkerton  is  about  65 
years  old,  and  just  the  homeliest  man  we  ever  laid  eyes  on. 
But  he  owns  some  150^00  acres  of  land,  a  third  of  the  Nolan 
grant,  and  10,000  sheep.     This  saves  him. 

The  object  of  our  visit  here  was  to  settle  the  boundary  line 
between  Pinkerton  and  the  Red  river  company.  Mr.  Pink- 
erton commenced  his  stock  business  in  Australia  in  1838, 
grazed  his  flocks  there  for  several  years,  until  New  Zealand 
offered  better  inducements,  when  he  moved  there.  Soon  af- 
ter California  lands  came  into  market  he  sold  out  and  operat- 
ed there,  and  his  last  move  was  from  California  to  New  Mex- 
ico, seven  years  ago.  Here  he  will  probably  end  his  days, 
as  he  has  a  sound  title  to  a  large  tract  of  land,  and  the  future 
settlement  of  the  territory  cannot  disturb  him  in  the  posses- 
sion of  his  real  estate.  But  a  visit  to  the  Pinkerton  adobe, 
and  a  participation  in  the  Pinkerton  fare  and  style  of  life,  is 
not  suggestive  of  wealth  or  luxury.  They  live  in  an  adobe 
with  mud  floors,  and  the  absence  of  convenience,  of  system, 
of  order,  of  style  and  neatness  is  conspicuous.  But  the  old 
gentleman  is  an  intelligent,  clever  sort  of  a  man,  the  owner 
of  large  and  growing  flocks,  takes  the  papers,  plays  the  Addle, 
or  scratches  it,  sings  bass  in  lumps',  while  his  wife  accom- 
panies him  on  the  piano,  and,  on  the  whole,  is  well  prepared 
to  get  his  portion  of  enjoyment  out  of  human  existence. 


122  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


Run  No.  17. 


FRED  HARVEY— DEMING— SILVER  CITY— THE  SURROUNDING  MINES 
—GRAZING— CLIMATE— SAND  STORMS— HARVEY'S  HOTEL— C.  H. 
DANE— THE  DEMING  HEADLIGHT— MORALS— INDIANS— COW  BOYS 
—PRICES. 


Deming,  New  Mexico,  November  27,  1881. 

Just  before  light  this  morning  the  porter  shouted  "Deming  !" 
in  my  ear,  and,  after  a  hasty  toilet,  I  left  the  sleeper  and  stood 
upon  the  platform  of  Fred  Harvey's  depot  hotel  in  Grant 
county,  way  down  in  south-western  New  Mexico,  1,149  miles 
from  Kansas  City,  and  750  south  of  Denver. 

Our  company  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Harvey  for  his  courtesy 
and  attention  during  the  trip.  Mr.  Harvey  has  charge  of 
every  victualing  saloon  on  the  Atchison,  Topekaand  SantaFe 
road,  and  is  also  proprietor  of  ten  of  the  best  hotels  on  the 
line,  including  the  great  Hot  Springs  House  at  Las  Vegas. 
His  charges  are  $1  a  meal,  but,  sparing  no  expense  in  help 
and  supplies,  he  gives  excellent  satisfaction,  and  is  earning  a 
national  fame  as  a  caterer  to  the  human  appetite.  All  com- 
plaints against  Fred  Harve}'  are  made  before  meals  are  eaten. 
In  addition  to  the  hotel  and  eating  saloon  business,  Mr.  Har- 
vey, in  company  with  William  B.  Strong,  president  of  the 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  road,  is  engaged  in  the  cattle 
raising  business,  and,  with  a  stream  of  profits  constantly  run- 
ning into  his  pocket  from  his  saloons  and  hotels,  he  emphasizes 
the  statement  that  no  business  in  this  country  pays  like  that  of 
raising  stock  in  a  country  which  furnishes  grazing  the  year 
round.  "The  soft  thing  in  New  Mexico,"  says  Mr.  Harvey, 
"is  raising  stock." 


SILVER  CITY.  123 

Our  party  spent  three  days,  from  Wednesday  noon  to  Sat- 
urday noon,  in  Las  Vegas,  of  which  I  will  give  particulars 
hereafter.  We  left  Las  Vegas  yesterday  noon  for  Alberquer- 
que,  intending  to  let  that  enterprising  town  terminate  our  trip 
south,  as  M.  M.  thought  he  could  not  spend  time  to  go  fur- 
ther. But  an  urgent  invitation  from  Mr.  Harvey  to  accom- 
pany him  to  Deming  and  see  the  future  railroad  centre  of 
New  Mexico,  induced  a  change  of  plans,  and  we  are  here,  at 
the  union  of  the  Southern  Pacific  and  the  Atchison,  Topeka 
and  Santa  Fe  roads.  This  is  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  for- 
mer and  the  western  terminus  of  the  latter  road,  the  two 
forming  the  southern  trunk  line  across  the  continent.  But 
the  work  of  neither  is  yet  completed.  The  Southern  Pacific 
will  continue  on  south-west  to  New  Orleans,  and  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  will  use  the  Southern  Pacific  line  eighty 
miles  west,  to  Benson,  Arizona,  and  there  branch  off  south- 
west, terminating  at  Guaymas  on  the  California  gulf  in  Old 
Mexico. 

Deming  is  18  hours  ride  from  Las  Vegas.  The  afternoon 
ride  was  over  much  such  country  as  that  in  the  north-eastern 
part  of  this  territory.  What  country  was  passed  over  dur- 
ing the  night  I  cannot  say,  but  I  find  Deming  on  a  perfectly 
flat  country,  stretching  away  off  in  the  distance  to  the  point 
where  it  meets  the  sky.  But  here  and  there,  in  every  direc- 
tion, great  black  mountains,  in  lumps  and  in  ranges,  rise  up 
suddenly  out  of  the  flat,  and  look  as  if  they  had  been  acci- 
dentally left  by  some  range  of  mountains  which  had  moved 
away.  In  these  barren  lumps  is  the  hope  of  this  part  of  the 
territory.     They  are  rich  in  gold,  silver,  copper  and  lead. 

In  a  conversation  with  Gen.  R.  G.  Rollins,  formerly  sur- 
veyor general  of  California,  now  a  professional  miner,  I  learn 
that  Deming  will  be  the  center  of  immense  mining  enterprises. 
Silver  city  is  50  miles  north.  She  is  ten  years  old,  and  has  a 
population  of  3,500,  and  is  really  one  of  the  pleasantest,  best 
ordered  little  cities  in  the  territory,  although  situated  in  the 
midst  of  the  wildest  and  most  reckless  surroundings.     The 


124  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

town  is  indebted  to  Sheriff  Whitehill  and  his  deputies  for  its 
good  order  and  safety  as  a  place  of  abode.  Silver  city  is 
wealthy.  Her  B reman  mine  has  already  yielded  $1,500,000, 
the  Providentia  $500,000,  the  Clifton  copper  mine  $1,000,- 
000  or  more.  The  locality  is  very  rich,  and  possibilities  are 
immense.  Nine  miles  from  Silver  City  is  the  Pinas  Altas 
camp,  which  has  yielded  largely.  The  Santa  Rita  Copper 
mine,  about  40  miles  north-east  of  Deming,  recently  sold  for 
$300,000,  and  is  worth  many  times  that  sum.  Over  100  years 
ago  the  Spaniards  operated  this  same  mine,  and  the  late  pur- 
chaser says  the  waste  dirt  of  those  old  miners  will  yield  more 
money  than  he  has  paid  tor  the  mine.  Georgetown  mine  is  50 
miles  north-east  of  Deming.  Five  mining  camps  are  being 
worked  within  a  distance  of  50  miles  on  the  south.  The  Flor- 
ida, 12  miles  away,  works  50  men  ;  Tres  Hermanas,  30  miles 
off,  25  men  ;  Carrezalillo,  30  miles,  15  men ;  Victoria,  25  miles, 
30  men  ;  Eureka,  50  miles  south-west,  a  dozen  men,  and  pays 
$12,000  a  month.  The  Indians  have  driven  away  the  men 
from  the  Florida,  but  order  will  soon  be  restored  and  the  work 
resumed.  The  mines  below  Deming  have  not  yet  paid  income, 
but  the  promise  is  very  great.  All  these  mines,  and  others  to 
be  developed,  are  the  main  tributaries  to  this  point. 

The  grazing  territory  is  unlimited  and  the  grass  very  rich, 
but  there  is  no  water,  and,  unless  wind  mills  will  furnish  the 
supply,  there  is  little  to  be  expected  from  that  source.  It 
seems  too  bad  to  see  such  an  unlimited  tract  of  rich  country 
lying  waste,  but  without  water  it  is  good  for  nothing  for  farm- 
ing or  grazing.  The  water  is  good,  but  runs  from  40  to  60  feet 
under  ground.  However,  the  complete  occupation  of  this  part 
of  the  territory  is  only  a  question  of  time.  The  abundance 
and  richness  of  the  grasses  will  amply  repay  expenses  of  bor- 
ing tor  water,  and  raising  it  to  the  surface  by  means  of  engines 
or  windmills. 

The  climate  is  delightful,  the  best  out  of  doors.  I  am 
writing  this  letter  in  the  open  air,  and  am  obliged  to  hunt  the 
shady  side  of  a  building.  The  sharp,  clear  sunshine  is  a 
trifle  too  much  for  comfort.     This,  I  am  told,  is  a  sample  day 


SAND  STORMS.  125 

of  winter  weather.  The  rainy  season  comes  usually  in  July 
and  August,  when  it  rains  hard  about  every  other  day,  or 
half  as  often  as  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Territory.  The  sea- 
son is  not  long  enough  for  farming,  but  is  sufficient  to  keep 
the  prairie  covered  with  bunches  of  grama  grass. 

A  disagreeable  thing  comes  here,  in  the  shape  of  sand 
storms,  when  for  hours  the  wind  fills  the  air  with  clouds  of 
dirt,  which  penetrates  everything.  During  these  storms  it  is 
next  to  impossible  to  travel  or  do  out  door  work.  A  Ver- 
mont snow  storm  is  paradise  in  comparison  with  a  Deming 
sand  storm.  The  reader  must  not  presume  to  compare  a  sand 
storm  with  the  raising  of  the  dust  in  the  east.  They  are  lit- 
erally storms.  You  see  in  the  Histance  black  clouds  gather- 
ing, and,  as  they  approach,  increase  in  size  and  density  until 
the  whole  firmament  is  overcast,  when  they  break  and  dis- 
charge their  contents  upon  the  earth.  The  inhabitants,  instead 
of  getting  drenched  with  water,  get  a  pelting  with  dust,  sand 
and  gravel,  which  makes  them  long  for  a  lodge  in  some  vast 
wilderness.  When  you  hear  about  a  "sand  storm"  in  South- 
ern New  Mexico,  don't  imagine  that  the  term  is  used  as  a 
figure  of  speech. 

Evidently  the  railroads  anticipate  a  good  future  for  JDem- 
ing.  Eight  months  ago  there  was  not  a  house  in  the  place. 
To-day  the  two  roads  have  several  acres  in  side  tracks,  a  ho- 
tel has  been  completed,  350  feet  long,  one  story  high  at  the 
ends,  with  the  central  part,  for  a  distance  of  200  feet,  two 
stories.  It  has  a  broad  verandah  on  both  sides,  is  finely  ar- 
ranged, and  very  pretty  in  its  architecture.  It  is  furnished  at 
an  expense  of  $10,000  by  Fred  Harvey,  and  is  first-class  in 
all  its  appointments.  The  west  end  of  the  first  story  is  de- 
voted to  railroad  offices,  telegraph  offices,  waiting  rooms,  etc. 
At  each  end  of  the  platform  are  the  offices  of  the  Adams  and 
Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.  express  companies.  Equidistant  from 
the  ends  of  the  depot  hotel,  and  just  a  mile  apart,  are  the 
round  houses,  shops  and  mechanical  headquarters  of  the  two 
roads,  all  the  country  between  them  being  laid  out  into  town 


126  TBEIEVITOWS  RUN. 

lots,  but  not  yet  for  sale.  The  little  village,  of  some  40 
shanties,  after  two  attempts  at  existence  on  the  railroad  track, 
has  been  obliged  to  pull  up  and  move  back  40  rods,  beyond 
land  recently  purchased  and  fenced  in  by  the  railroad. 
"'Pears  like  they  don't  want  a  village  here,  any  way," said  one 
of  the  villagers,  on  commenting  on  this  policy  of  the  compa- 
ny. And  such  is  doubtless  the  fact,  unless  a  village  is  to  be 
composed  of  a  different  element  from  that  which  gathered  in 
the  first  collection  of  houses.  No  one  can  blame  the  railroad 
company  or  the  hotel  proprietor  for  removing  such  an  element 
beyond  contact  with  patrons  of  the  road  passing  through  the 
place.  But  the  village  element  is  steadily  improving  in  qual- 
ity, and  in  a  short  time  the  saloon  and  gambling  power  will  be 
under  wholesome  fear  of  the  statute. 

It  is  marvelous  how  quick  a  village  will  spring  into  exist- 
ence at  a  promising  railroad  junction.  Deming  village,  40 
rods  from  the  track,  has  about  40  houses  or  shanties,  all  busi- 
ness places.  The  postmaster,  C.  H.  Dane,  is  absent  in  Cal- 
ifornia, but  we  found  his  shed  headquarters,  and  learned  that 
thus  early  in  existence  the  post-office  is  worth  $25  a  month, 
and  is  rapidly  growing.  Mr.  Dane  had  charge  of  the  mail 
and  express  on  the  S.  P.  from  the  time  it  left  the  Pacific 
coast,  keeping  his  office  in  a  box  car  at  the  several  stopping 
points  during  the  construction.  Last  April  the  road  reached 
this  point,  where  the  postmaster  and  express  agent  remained 
on  wheels  for  some  weeks,  and  at  last  located  in  a  shanty  on 
a  regular  village  lot. 

I  find  here  also  J.  E.  Currier,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Deming  Headlight,  a  little  four  column  sheet,  less  than  half 
the  size  of  the  Union,  and  now  26  weeks  old,  price  $3  a  year 
in  advance,  circulation  200.  Price  of  advertising,  seven 
inches  three  months,  $25.  The  press  used  is  a  little  com- 
mercial foot  machine,  which  costs  $25,  but  it  prints  a  quarter 
of  the  little  paper  at  a  time  and  gives  the  place  a  weekly  ad- 
vocate, which  will  grow  into  a  daily  educator  just  as  soon  as 
the  demand  calls  loud  enough  to  make  it  pay.     The  building 


DEMING  MORALS.  127 

now  used  for  this  enterprise  consists  of  a  shed,  single  boarded, 
with  the  little  press  and  types  in  one  end,  the  family  in  the 
other,  and  a  few  boards  in  the  center  serving  as  a  partition 
between  the  two.  But  Mr.  Currier  is  full  of  enthusiasm  over 
the  future  of  the  little  village,  rejoices  that  he  got  his  little 
press  on  the  ground  first,  and  he  can  see  in  his  mind's  eye  a 
prosperous  business,  followed  by  wealth,  influence,  position — 
perhaps  a  seat  in  Congress — and  a  luxurious  home. 

Deming  morals  are  not  to  be  discussed  in  a  newspaper — till 
she  has  some.  This  is  that  part  oi  New  Mexico  infested  by 
Indians  and  roughs,  who  denominate  themselves  cow  boys. 
During  the  past  three  years,  within  a  radius  of  50  miles  around 
this  depot  over  500  persons  have  been  slaughtered  by  the  In- 
dians. Cook's  canon,  in  sight  from  this  village,  goes  by  the 
name  of  Death's  Canon,  on  account  of  the  various  fights  and 
slaughters  which  have  taken  place  there.  During  the  troubles 
last  summer,  the  Indians  came  down  this  canon,  passing  within 
sight  oi  this  village,  in  their  flight  for  Old  Mexico.  The  women 
in  the  village  were  in  a  corral  at  the  time;  and  the  men  were 
for  several  days  standing  guard. 

But  the  Indians  are  not  the  worst  element  in  Grant  county 
society.  The  cow  boys,  or  roughs  and  thieves,  are  so  numer- 
ous that  no  man  ventures  any  distance  from  the  village  without 
his  Winchester  rifle,  ready  to  repeat  12  or  16  times  without 
reloading.  With  this  element  constantly  on  the  watch  for 
plunder,  a  man's  life  goes  for  naught.  A  villager  told  me  this 
morning,  in  proof  that  Deming  was  not  a  bad  town,  that  the 
village  was  eight  months  old,  and  only  two  murders  had  been 
committed  since  it  was  started.  Pretty  good  evidence  of 
sound  morals.  Three  weeks  ago  a  cow  boy  rode  his  horse 
defiantly  over  the  depot  hotel  platform,  and  was  about  to  ride 
into  the  dining  room,  when  he  dropped  off  his  horse  with  a 
charge  of  buckshot  in  his  back.  The  first  charge  struck  the 
dining-room  door,  and  remains  there  as  a  reminder  of  Deming 
customs.  The  cow  boy  was  buried  without  ceremony.  He  is 
indebted  to  Deputy  Sheriff  Tucker  for  his  change  of  abode, 
and  ten  other  roughs  are  similarly  indebted  to  that  officer,  who 


128  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

is  still  in  the  harness,  and  promises  to  rid  the  locality  of  the 
hateful  element  before  long.  What  is  needed  in  southern  New 
Mexico  is  one  or  two  such  officers  in  every  village,  and  travel- 
ing on  every  train.  The  great  trouble  is  that  two  many  offi- 
cers are,  lor  consideration  or  otherwise,  in  collusion  with  the 
roughs,  and  are  conspicuously  absent  in  the  gambling  hells 
and  dance  houses  about  the  time  the  shooting  begins. 

The  price  of  board  here  is  $6  a  week,  meals  at  the  hotel  $1. 
Laboring  men  get  $2.25  a  day,  carpenters  $3.50,  stone  ma- 
sons $5,  cow  herders  $50  a  month  and  board,  miners  $4  a 
day,  physicians  $3.50  a  visit.  Making  a  deed  costs  $1.50, 
acknowledgment  50  cents.  Potatoes  $3.25  a  bushel,  but- 
ter 45  cents,  flour  $4.50  a  hundred,  railroad  ties  55  cents, 
drinks  15  cents ;  so  the  Governor  tells  me.  Town  lots  run 
from  $100  to  $325,  and,  judging  from  present  appearances, 
as  many  cents  would  cover  the  value  and  have  a  good  margin 
to  spare.  But  it  is  possible  that  those  same  lots  may  advance 
a  thousand  per  cent,  within  a  year.  If  I  knew  it,  and  the  cred- 
it system  was  in  vogue,  I  should  invest. 


THE  GOVERNOR  PROMPT. 


Run  No.  18. 


A  ROUGH  PUNISHED  ON  THE  TRAIN— THE  GOVERNOR'S  UNUSUAL 
PROMPTNESS— CONFIDENCE  OF  NEW  MEXICO  TOWNS— SOCORRO'S 
CLAIMS— THE  OLD  TOWN— THE  MINES,  AND  HOW  TITLES  ARE 
SECURED-SOCORRO'S  PROSPECTS— PRICE  OF  LOTS-INSTITUTIONS 
—GAMBLING— THE  GAME  OF  "HOLD  UP"— THE  VIGILANCE  COM- 
MITTEE—A CULPRIT  FLOGGED— THREATS  AGAINST  THE  TOWN- 
PRICES— INTEREST  MONEY. 


Socorro,  N.  M.,  November  29,  1881. 

On  our  return  we  left  Deming  Sunday  evening,  at  9  o'clock, 
arriving  at  Socorro  at  half  past  three  Monday  morning. 

Speaking  of  roughs  in  my  Deming  letter,  reminds  me  that 
there  was  a  little  exhibition  of  that  spirit  in  our  car  last  night. 
A  well  dressed  fellow,  outside  of  considerable  rum,  occupied 
the  rear  of  the  car,  indulged  in  bulldozing  language,  not  suit- 
able for  type,  and  occasionally  marched  up  and  down  the 
aisle,  seemingly  to  invite  anybody  to  interfere  with  him.  Af- 
ter a  while  he  got  seated  in  the  rear,  and  fired  off  his  revolver 
at  a  mark  in  the  front  end  of  the  car.  There  was  a  simulta- 
neous movement  among  the  passengers,  some  going  up  with  a 
shock,  and  others  under  the  seat  with  fright.  The  Governor 
went  under  the  seat,  making  up  his  mind  what  to  do,  and  go- 
ing about  it  with  a  promptness  surprising  to  one  familiar  with 
his  habits  of  procrastination.  Folsom,  who  was  sitting  with 
me,  went  up  with  a  shock,  and  as  he  came  down  both  of  us 
shrunk  into  our  overcoats,  so  that  in  case  there  was  another 
hunt  for  a  target  our  heads  would  not  be  conspicuous.  The 
9 


130  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

inside  of  the  car  at  that  moment  would  have  made  a  good 
subject  for  the  camera.  In  a  few  moments  two-thirds  of  the 
people  had  left  the  car,  and  it  looked  as  though  the  rough  was 
going  to  have  it  all  his  own  way.  Conductor  Rogers  spoke 
to  him  mildly,  but  the  brute,  spoiling  for  a  fight,  suddenly 
drew  back  and  struck  the  conductor  a  powerful  blow  in  the 
face.  The  fun  commenced  right  there.  Quick  as  lightning 
the  conductor  seized  him  by  the  throat,  and  broke  him  over 
one  of  the  seats.  A  half  dozen  revolvers  were  pulled  at  once 
and  the  conductor's  was  playing  powerfully  on  the  top  of  the 
rough's  head,  each  blow  making  a  noise  which  sounded  as  if 
the  revolver  sunk  half  its  size  into  the  skull.  The  blood  flew 
clear  across  the  car  and  at  the  sixth  blow  the  conductor  asked, 
"Have  you  got  enough?"  In  tones  of  profound  respect  the 
rough  answered,  "Yes,  sir."  A  half  dozen  hands  were  upon 
him,  but  he  was  allowed  to  get  up  and  survey  the  situation, 
bleeding  like  a  stuck  pig.  The  only  mistake  the  conductor 
made  was  in  using  his  revolver  as  a  maul  instead  of  a  shooter. 
I  was  wicked  enough  to  want  to  see  that  man  die,  and  so  were 
others. 

In  New  Mexico,  every  town  now  springing  in  to  impor- 
tance, is  confident  of  becoming  the  distributing  center  of 
the  territory.  This  is  natural  while  the  center  is  still  unde- 
termined and  nearly  every  town  is  on  the  boom,  and  under  the 
impetus  of  constant  and  increasing  immigration.  We  find 
Socorro  men  willing  to  concede  a  second  place  to  any  ambi- 
tious town  which  wants  it,  but  Socorro  must  stand  first. 

And  on  what  does  she  base  her  claims  ?  She  is  centrally 
located,  is  well  up  from  the  river,  has  the  best  of  water  and  a 
most  fertile  valley,  is  in  a  healthy  locality,  and  is  backed  by 
the  richest  mining  sections  in  the  territory.  A  two  days'  tar- 
ry in  the  town  has  convinced  me  that  her  claims  are  reason- 
able. I  cannot  avoid  .the  conviction  that  Socorro's  near  fu- 
ture will  make  land  owners  hereabouts  rich,  and  that  her 
growth  and  her  industries  will  honor  the  territory. 

Old  Socorro  is  a  series  of  old,  one  story,  flat  roof,  adobe 


SOCORRO'S  MINES.  131 

houses,  built  solid  around  a  square,  and  running  out  from  the 
square,  or  plaza,  in  irregular  streets  and  lanes.  The  old  Mex- 
icans paid  little  attention  to  streets.  Taos  was  a  fair  sample. 
The  old  Mexican  population  was  probably  not  far  from  2,000 
people.  Here  they  have  lived  from  time  immemorial,  domi- 
ciled in  mud  rooms,  and  fenced  in  with  mud  walls,  caring  lit- 
tle-for  the  progress  of  the  world  outside.  A  good  number 
of  her  traders  had  become  wealthy,  but  wealth  in  a  Mexican 
town  seldom  takes  the  form  of  public  spirit. 

A  year  ago  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad 
passed,  and  very  soon  the  town  began  to  fill  up.  Every  room 
in  old  town  was  crowded  and  new  buildings,  of  modern  make 
but  cheap,  began  to  spring  up.  The  wealth  of  the  mines  has 
been  known,  to  some  extent,  for  a  long  time,  but  on  account 
of  proximity  to  unfriendly  Indian  tribes  they  were  worked 
but  partially  until  the  advent  of  the  road.  As  railroads  and 
Indians  do  not  dwell  together,  the  Indians  retired  to  more 
secluded  quarters,  and  the  railroad  continued  to  bring  miners, 
visitors,  American  mechanics,  and  business  men,  and  a  great 
change  commenced  at  once.  Prospectors  roamed  over  the 
mountains,  staked  out  numerous  claims,  some  selling  out  and 
others  commencing  the  development  of  the  mines.  To-day 
on  every  side  of  the  old  Mexican  town  there  are  rich  mines. 

On  the  north  are  the  Ladrones  twenty  miles  away  ;  Pulvi- 
daro  twelve  miles ;  Limetar  eight  miles  ;  the  three  working 
about  fifty  men.  On  the  west  the  Gallenas,  forty  miles, 
Pueblos  and  the  Magdalenas,  twenty-five  miles,  Water  Can- 
on, eighteen  miles,  all  working  over  500  men.  In  the  south- 
west 120  miles  is  the  Black  Range,  where  a  dozen  or  more 
companies  are  at  work  with  500  or  600  men.  In  this  local- 
ity is  the  celebrated  Ivanhoe  mines,  in  which  Bob  Ingersoll 
has  a  large  interest.  The  Socorro  mines  are  three  miles 
away,  in  the  same  direction.  Thirteen  miles  from  town  is  the 
Barbello  mine,  working  100  men.  In  the  south,  thirteen 
miles,  is  the  Antonia  Coal  company,  working  100  men.  The 
San  Andreas  mines  are  40  miles  to  the  south,  working  100  men. 


132  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

Forty  miles  to  the  south-east  is  the  Oscuras,  with  fifty  men. 
White  Oaks  camp,  with  numerous  companies  and  1,500  men, 
is  seventy  miles  east,  with  a  daily  stage  and  mail  to  Socorro. 
The  Socorro  or  Torence  mine,  three  miles  from  town,  is  prov- 
ing very  rich,  and  the  company  are  now  spending  $60,000  to 
$80,000  in  a  stamp  mill  and  smelting  works.  All  of  these 
mining  camps,  and  more  are  being  formed  every  week,  will 
use  Socorro  as  their  base  of  supplies,  and  the  richness  of  the 
ores  and  the  general  desire  among  men  to  participate  in  the 
wealth  to  be  obtained  in  the  vicinity  of  this  town,  is  a  rea- 
sonable ground  for  the  expectation  that  Socorro  is  to  become 
a  second  Denver.  A  year  ago  the  Torence  mine  was  bought 
for  $68,000,  and  Governor  Tabor,  of  Colorado,  was  recently 
offered  $550,000  for  it.  Six  months  ago  the  Ivanhoe  cost 
$8,000,  and  is  now  worth  $500,000.  The  Merritt,  in  the 
Socorro  list,  was  located  a  year  ago  by  a  man  named  Coon, 
and  is  now  worth  $300,000.  A  young  man  named  Kilgare 
makes  a  business  of  discovering  and  locating  mines,  and  has 
cleared  an  average  of  $10,000  a  year  for  some  time,  having 
commenced  his  work  in  Colorado.  The  Toledo  mine  cost 
$30,000  a  year  ago,  and  is  now  worth  $200,000.  The  men 
who  discovered  the  Gallinas  mine  last  summer  can  sell  out  for 
$300,000.  The  Torence  pays  $35  a  ton  and  costs  $5  to  work 
it,  which  shows  a  tolerable  net  profit.  We  cite  the  above  as 
samples  of  mining  incidents  and  mining  business. 

The  location  of  a  claim  embraces  a  piece  1,500x600  feet, 
or  about  twenty  acres  in  extent.  The  discoverer  puts  up  no- 
tice on  the  claim,  in  conformity  with  territorial  and  camp  law, 
does  $500  worth  of  work  on  the  property,  and  publishes  ap- 
plication for  patent  from  government  60  days,  in  the  nearest 
paper.     This  gives  him  right  to  the  patent,  which  is  his  title. 

Add  to  the  fact  that  Socorro  is  conceded  to  be  the  richest 
mining  locality  in  the  territory,  the  further  fact  that  she  is 
located  in  the  Rio  Grande  valley,  one  of  the  finest  fruit  grow- 
ing valleys  in  the  world,  and  fertile  in  the  production  of  grain 
and  vegetables,  that  she  has  within  an  hours'  drive  of  the 


SOCORRO'S  PROSPECTS.  133 

post-office  a  series  of  hot  springs,  averaging  in  medicinal 
qualities  with  those  at  Las  Vegas  and  Taos,  that  she  is  up 
from  the  stream  and  easily  drained,  is  in  one  of  the  most  de- 
lightful climates  in  the  world,  that  she  has  considerable  trib- 
ute from  the  grazing  interests,  that  she  has  one  railroad,  will 
soon  have  two,  and  perhaps  three,  that  she  is  the  county  seat 
of  Socorro  county,  and  I  see  no  reason  for  discouraging  the 
Socorroite  in  his  aspiration  for  metropolitan  importance. 

A  great  many  are  convinced  that  this  is  the  direction  of  the 
current,  for  the  town  is  rapidly  filling  up  with  strangers  seek- 
ing places  for  business.  Last  April  there  was  not  a  house  be- 
tween the  depot  and  the  plaza,  a  distance  of  a  third  of  a  mile. 
Now,  on  both  sides  of  the  street,  there  is  a  line  of  business 
houses  and  others  are  rapidly  growing  up.  Lots  which  at  that 
time  sold  for  $100,  are  now  selling  for  $500  to  $700.  Resi- 
dence lots  Lave  advanced  from  $25  to  $50,  $75,  $100,  and  some 
as  high  as  $250.  P.  A.  Simpson,  a  young  man,  half  Me  xican, 
was  a  believer  in  the  growth  of  the  town  from  the  time  the  rail- 
road was  completed,  invested  in  land  in  different  parts  of  the 
town,  has  already  cleared  $20,000,  and  has  most  of  his  land  left 
for  sale  at  the  high  price. 

The  old  town  has  two  banks,  and  is  unable  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  increasing  business.  There  are  four  hotels,  and  others 
going  up.  The  old  ones  are  Mexican,  all  one  story,  and  the 
traveler  has  to  go  out  doors  to  get  to  his  bed-room.  There  are 
two  newspapers,  one  of  them  being  a  sort  of  fly  speck  daily, 
but  will  soon  grow  into  respectable  proportions.  We  met  D. 
A.  Beckwith,  editor  of  Socorro  Miner,  and  an  enthusiastic  ad- 
vocate of  the  future  of  the  town.  His  belief  has  urged  him  to 
the  extent  of  buying  a  plat  of  land,  now  laid  off  into  town  lots, 
and  he  is  "waiting,  only  waiting,"  for  the  anticipated  greenbacks. 
Mr.  Beckwith  has  a  large  acquaintance  with  mining,  is  an  in- 
telligent man,  a  ready  writer,  and  1  expect  to  see  him  lead  the 
future  journalism  in  southern  New  Mexico. 

Socorro  has  several  little  churches,  but  the  religious  influence 
here,  as  in  all  other  places  in  New  Mexico,  Las  Vegas  excepted, 
is  mostly  Catholic.     The   next  season,  however,  will  see  two 


134  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

or  three  new  churches  built  of  the  Protestant  persuasion.  1 
heard  nothing  said  about  schools,  but  that  subject  will  have 
a  leading  position  as  soon  as  the  American  element  gets  homes 
and  business  places  built.  It  is  rather  early  yet  for  that.  It  is 
early,  also,  for  the  establishment  of  other  and  various  public 
enterprises  sure  to  follow  American  immigration. 

As  to  society,  there  is  none,  as  the  new  comers  are  all 
strangers  to  each  other.  But,  calling  the  saloon  gatherings  a 
reliable  indication  ot  home  life,  one  would  infer  that  the  whole 
community  is  hell  bent.  Twenty  or  thirty  of  those  places  are 
filled,  night  and  day,  with  as  rough  human  element  as  one  can 
imagine,  each  man  having  a  revolver  stuck  in  his  belt  read3T  for 
instant  service.  Gambling  is  the  favorite  pastime,  every  sa- 
loon having  from  one  to  a  dozen  tables  going  at  the  same  time. 
Mexican  monte,  keno,  faro,  high  ball,  etc.,  are  the  prevailing 
games,  and  everybody  indulges — at  least  we  judge  so,  from  the 
crowded  appearance  of  every  saloon.  Nor  have  we  heard  any 
complaint  against  the  custom.  It  does  not  matter  much  what 
one  does  in  this  country,  so  long  as  he  does  not  shoot.  There  is 
no  criticism  of  personal  conduct,  no  standard  of  morals  or  re- 
spectability, no  "high  bobs,"  no  fanatics,  nobody  to  dictate  to 
others  how  to  eat,  drink  or  behave.  All  any  one  asks  of  his 
neighbor  is  to  "keep  off  my  toes,"  and  the  only  convenient  or 
reliable  method  of  enforcing  that  request  is  the  omnipresent 
six  shooter.  If  there  is  any  law,  no  one  relies  upon  its  tardy 
operation.  The  plea  of  insanity  does  not  avail  before  the  aver- 
age vigilance  committee. 

Socorro,  for  some  months  past,  has  had  the  reputation  of  be- 
ing one  of  the  hardest  places  in  the  state.  The  mines  have 
many  hard  characters,  and  others,  worse  than  the  worst  of 
miners,  are  prowling  in  the  vicinity  and  lodging  in  the  moun^ 
tains,  waiting  for  plunder  through  the  medium  ol  robbery  or 
murder.  The  business  game  of  this  element  is  "Hold  up." 
Two  can  play  it,  but  three  is  better.  No.  1  is  the  innocent  vic- 
tim. No.  2  thrusts  the  revolver  under  No.  Vs  nose  and  says, 
"Hold  up  your  hands."  The  request  is  usually  complied  with 
promptly,  and,  while  Nos.  1  and  2  form  the  tableau  above  de- 


THE  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE.  135 

scribed,  No.  3  goes  through  No.  l's  pockets,  and  abstracts  what- 
ever he  finds  in  the  way  of  'medium  of  exchange,"  or  other 
valuables.  This  is  the  great  game  of  southern  New  Mexico, 
and  the  "tenderfeet" — new  comers — are  almost  daily  invited  to 
take  a  hand.  Tired  of  this  kind  of  business,  the  better  element 
of  Socorro  has  recently  formed  a  society  for  protection,  called 
the  vigilance  committee,  including  almost  the  entire  number  of 
law  and  order  people.  The  decisions  of  this  committee  are  the 
law  of  the  town.  Meetings  are  held  several  evenings  each 
week,  the  pass  word  given,  and  business  arranged  to  meet 
whatever  emergencies,  rumors  or  intelligences  are  at  hand.  A 
week  ago  one  of  a  pair  of  roughs  was  caught  in  the  act  of 
"holding  up"  a  tenderfoot,  and,  after  consultation,  the  commit- 
tee concluded  to  revive  the  flogging  process.  Strapping  the 
culprit  over  a  log,  a  castigation  was  administered  which  he  will 
never  forget.  He  was  then  released  and  ordered  out  of  town 
on  a  double  quick.  Others  caught  have  been  hung.  This 
method  of  legal  redress  is  not  pleasing  to  the  roughs,  but  is  an 
effectual  bar  to  the  insanity  plea.  It  waits  not  for  unwilling  wit- 
nesses, and  is  in  other  ways  more  direct  than  agreeable  to 
known  villains.  Serious  threats  of  destruction  are  now  stand- 
ing against  the  town,  but  the  plucky  committee  do  not  wince. 
They  will  master  the  situation,  clear  the  locality  of  roughs,  or  fall 
in  the  attempt.  Yesterday  a  rumor  was  circulated  in  town  that 
an  organized  raid  would  be  made  last  night.  As  there  was  no 
train  out  of  town  till  to-day,  Folsom  and  the  Governor  were 
unhappy,  and  slept  little  during  the  night.  The  Governor 
wanted  to  go  somewhere  and  write  a  letter,  but,  as  I  intimated 
to  him  that  possibly  he  had  indited  his  last  missive,  his  coun- 
tenance assumed  a  woe  begone  expression  which  made  me  re- 
gret the  suggestion.  But  a  large  number  of  the  committee 
patroled  the  streets  with  guns  during  the  night,  and  there  was 
no  attacks  The  spirit,  intelligence  and  determination  of  this 
committee  will  soon  make  Socorro  a  safe  place  of  abode. 

Prices  here  are  a  little  higher  than  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  territory.  The  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  raihoad 
has  a  monopoly  of  freights,  and   the  consumer  has  the  bills 


136  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

to  pay.  But  every  one  is  so  grateful  to  that  company 
for  penetrating  the  territory  and  opening  it  to  the 
world,  that  little  fault  is  found  with  the  tariff.  The  cor- 
poration is  entitled  to  all  it  asks.  Day  board  is  $7  a  week. 
Hotels  charge  $3.  Laborers  get  $2.50  a  day,  boss  carpenters 
and  masons  $5,  and  printers  $20  a  week.  A  little  $800  to 
$1,000  residence  brings  $30  a  month  rent.  A  store  25x60  feet 
on  the  main  street,  $80  to  $100  a  month.  The  profits  of  rent- 
ed property  runs  all  the  way  from  25  to  75  per  cent.  None 
lower  than  25  per  cent.,  and  we  have  seen  a  few  cases  of  very 
cheap  buildings  bringing  as  high  as  100  per  cent.  It  seems  in- 
credible that  rents  should  bring  such  large  income  on  invest- 
ment, but  it  is  the  way  in  all  new  and  growing  towns,  where 
buildings  are  insufficient  to  meet  the  demand.  But  rents  will 
easily  yield  a  33  per  cent,  profit  in  Socorro  for  several  years  to 
come. 

Banks  loan  money  at  18  per  cent,  on  gilt  edge  security,  and 
private  lenders  get  2  to  5  per  cent,  a  month,  as  they  "light  on 
chaps."  Everything  is  unsettled,  and  opportunities  for  specu- 
lation are  numerous  and  tempting.  One  who  knows  the  coun- 
try, its  advantages,  its  opportunities,  its  men,  its  securities,  etc., 
and  is  bright  on  general  principles,  can  pay  anywhere  from  25 
to  100  per  cent,  for  capital  and  make  a  good  profit  on  it.  He 
may  lose  it,  but  the  possibilities  of  profit  are  here,  all  the  same. 
The  development  of  New  Mexico  has  but  just  commenced,  and 
will  be  rapid,  and  many  men  now  poor  will  soon  be  surprised 
to  find  themselves  wealthy.  A  good  number  of  those  men  live 
in  Socorro,  working  in  its  interests,  and  staking  their  prosper- 
ity on  the  result. 


SITU  A  TION  OF  ALBERQUERQUE.  137 


Run  No.  19, 


SITUATION  OF  ALBERQUERQUE— HER  CLAIMS— RAILROADS— COAL 
AND  CLAY— CONFIDENCE  OF  THE  PEOPLE— BUILDING— POPULA- 
TION—PRICES— EMPLOYMENT— THE  FACULTY  OF  GETTING  RICH 
NOT  POSSESSED  BY  ALL— SOCIAL  ATMOSPHERE— "NED."  POLAND'S 
OPINION  OF  THE  COUNTRY— HE  IS  "HELD  UP"— SCOTT  MOORE 
—MACK  &  WHEELOCK'S  REAL  ESTATE  AGENCY. 


Alberquerque,  November  30,  1881. 

Leaving  Socorro  at  2  o'clock  this  morning,  we  arrived  at 
this  place,  seventy-seven  miles  north,  at  six  o'clock.  The 
old  town  of  Alberquerque  is  a  mile  from  the  depot,  and,  like 
all  other  old  Mexican  towns,  is  built  of  adobe,  one  story,  flat 
top  houses,  and  has  for  years  been  the  headquarters  of  many 
rich  Mexican  traders  and  stock  raisers.  The  new  town,  of 
course,  starts  from  the  depot  and  works  towards  the  old  town. 
The  location  is  in  the  Rio  Grande  Valley,  4600  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  on  land  very  rich,  and  the  best  in  the  world 
for  grapes,  apricots,  apples,  peaches  and  pears,  and  also  good 
for  wheat,  oats,  corn  and  vegetables.  But  the  village  is  on 
low,  flat  ground,  difficult  to  drain,  and  will  be  unhealthy,  un- 
less suitable  provision  is  made  in  that  direction.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  thought  of  at  present,  as  everything  is  on  the 
boom  in  the  way  of  building,  securing  lots,  establishing  busi- 
ness, &c.  A  resident  of  a  New  England  town,  stationery  in 
its  business  methods,  society,  resources,  productions,  etc.,  can 
scarcely   appreciate   the  hurry,    the  confusion,  the  anxiety, 


138  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

the  buzz  and  the  hum-drum,  incident  to  one  of  these  new 
western  towns,  growing  rapidly  into  form,  business,  and  im- 
portance under  the  impetus  of  town  rivalry  and  great  expec- 
tations. 

Alberquerque  claims  future  importance  on  the  strength  of 
being  a  railroad  centre,  of  being  located  in  a  central  position 
in  the  territory,  "of  having  some  mining  wealth,  now  being 
worked  and  to  be  developed,  of  having  the  trade  of  the  Nav- 
ajo Indian  stock  raisers,  and  some  from  the  stock  raisers  on 
the  east.  But  her  best  claim  is  based  on  the  strength  of  the 
railroads.  The  Atlantic  and  Pacific  intersects  here  with  the 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe,  and  the  repair  shops  and 
round  houses  of  that  company  are  in  process  of  erection.  It 
is  said  that  that  company  alone  will  employ  1500  men  here 
next  summer  in  construction,  and  keep  nearly  that  force  per- 
manently employed  in  shops  and  yards.  These  shops  are  a 
half  mile  below  the  depot  and  main  street,  and  in  their  vicin- 
ity lots  are  selling  for  $200  to  $500,  according  to  location.  The 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  line  will  be  finished  next  summer  through 
the  Texas  Pan  Handle  and  Indian  Territory  to  Venita,  Kan- 
sas, and  there  connect  with  a  road  from  St.  Louis,  thus  form- 
ing a  great  trunk  line  across  the  continent.  The  town  also 
expects  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  from  the  north  will  touch 
here  in  its  course  souih.  It  is  conceded  by  all  that  as  a  rail- 
road point  Alberquerque  will  be  among  the  important  towns 
in  the  territory  Her  other  claims  are  not  considered  very  re- 
liable, though  there  is  no  contradicting  that  she  has  a  rich 
valley.  But  as  agriculture,  outside  of  stock  grazing,  is  not 
reckoned  among  the  most  prominent  contributions  to  the  pros- 
pective wealth  of  the  territory,  it  will  not  be  safe  for  her  to 
build  extensively  on  the  strength  of  that  claim.  There  is  no 
agriculture  without  irrigation  anywhere  in  the  territory.  And 
compared  with  the  profits  of  stock  raising  or  mining,  the 
most  successful  agriculture  falls  so  far  short,  that  ambition  is 
not  likely  to  hold  out  long  in  that  direction,  until  the  grazing 
territory  is  all  owned  and  occupied,  and  difficult  to  obtain. 


RAPID  GROWTH  OF  ALBERQUERQUE.  139 

Then  tilling  of  the  soil  will  become  more  popular  and  more 
general.  A  thousand  dollars  invested  in  land  in  the  Rio 
Grande  Valley,  and  worked  with  the  industry,  perseverance 
and  calculation  of  the  average  Vermont  farmer,  would  pay  a 
far  greater  net  profit  here  than  there.  It  would  be  quite  as 
sure,  too,  because  with  irrigation  the  farmer  can  regulate  his 
moisture  according  to  the  demands  of  the  growing  crops ,  and 
not  be  subject  to  the  whims  of  the  sky. 

There  is  a  coal  mine,  with  stratum  three  feet  thick,  being 
worked  13  miles  from  town,  and  eight  or  ten  gold,  silver  and 
copper  mines  are  being  worked  within  the  same  distance,  from 
which  the  town  will  receive  some  permanent  tribute.  Pottery 
clay  is  found  within  four  miles  of  town,  from  which  the  Indi- 
ans and  Mexicans  have  in  times  past  made  vessels.  Fourteen 
miles  from  town  excellent  sand  for  the  manufacture  of  glass  is 
found,  and  some  things  may  grow  out  of  that.  The  mountains, 
the  valleys  and  the  plains  contain  everything  necessary  to  give 
industry  to  a  large  population,  and  self-support  to  a  big  city. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  real  sources  of  growth,  we  have 
not  "struck  a  place,"  as  they  say  here,  where  the  people  are 
more  confident  in  the  future  importance  of  their  town.  And 
this  confidence  is  but  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the  history  of 
the  past  few  months.  Last  February,  in  the  locality  of  the  de- 
pot there  was  nothing  but  two  or  three  shanties  and  a  few 
cloth  tents.  But  a  town  was  among  the  certainties  of  the 
future,  and  lots  were  selling  at  $100.  To-day  it  would  be  dif- 
ficult to  count  the  business  houses.  The  growth  has  surprised 
every  one.  Front  street,  or  Railroad  Avenue,  is  solid  for  near- 
ly three-quarters  of  a  mile,  and  lots  are  selling  as  high  as 
$2,000.  Railroad  street,  running  towards  the  old  town,  at 
right  angles  with  the  Avenue,  is  nearly  solid  with  business 
houses  for  five  blocks,  or  nearly  a  third  of  a  mile  back.  Build- 
ings are  every  day  springing  into  existence  all  over  the  plat- 
ted part  of  the  town,  covering  an  area  of  a  mile  and  a  half  by 
two  miles  in  extent.  The  sound  of  the  hammer  and  the  trow- 
el is  heard  on  every  corner,  and  a  heterogeneous  crowd  of  hu- 
man beings  are  hurrying  to  and  fro  on  business,  or  in  search  of 


140  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

location.     Street  cars  are  running  from  Railroad  street  to  Old 
town,  and  have  paid  a  profit  from  the  day  of  starting. 

The  village  has  two  little  daily  papers,  one  bank,  two  church- 
es, a  foundry,  grist  mill,  planing  mill,  a  one  story  school  house, 
30x50,  and  more  contemplated,  four  hotels,  and  saloons  which 
keep  ahead  of  the  census  taker.  This  enumeration  includes 
nothing  in  Old  town.  The  entire  population  of  the  place  is  not 
far  from  5,000.  Lots  sell  from  $200  to  $2,000  each.  Rents 
pay  25  to  50  per  cent,  on  investment.  The  most  substantial 
and  permanent  improvements  pay,  at  the  least,  25  per  cent. 
Money  brings  18  per  cent,  on  best  security,  and  what  one 
pleases  to  ask  for  it  on  a  venture.  Stone  cutters  get  $5  a  day, 
laborers  $2,  and  day  board  costs  $7  a  week.  Prices  are  about 
the  same  as  in  Socorro.  A  man  willing  to  work  can  find  in- 
stant employment  at  good  pay.  whatever  be  his  trade.  The 
town  is  hungry  for  labor  and  capital,  but  capital  has  the  best 
chance  here,  the  same  as  everywhere  else.  A  prudent  man, 
with  average  penetration  and  $5,000  in  money,  can  here  make 
twice  as  much  with  his  money  as  he  can  in  Vermont  with  mon- 
ey and  industry  combined.  Opportunities  are  everywhere 
open  for  the  employment  of  capital  at  sure  and  high  paying 
profits. 

But  there  are  financial  pit  falls  even  here,  and  it  is  pos- 
sible for  blunderers  to  part  with  their  money.  The  faculty 
of  accumulating  property  is  not  possessed  by  ail.  One  who  is 
always  poor  in  the  east  would  be  poor  here,  while  one  who 
would  get  rich  in  the  east  would  very  likely  become  richer  here. 
Property  is  accumulated  anywhere,  slowly  but  surely,  by  per- 
severing industry,  united  with  economy  which  keeps  within 
the  income.  It  is  accumulated  by  speculation,  often  rapidly, 
by  those  who  can  see  and  comprehend  opportunities  growing 
out  of  the  demands  of  a  community,  resources  of  locality,  con- 
dition of  society,  etc.  Here  changes  are  rapid,  society  is 
forming,  values  are  unfixed,  business  channels  are  being  cut, 
emigration  is  pouring  in,  and  during  this  process  of  formation 
opportunities  for  profitable  investment  are  numerous,  springing 
up  every  day  and  every  hour,  and  those  who  can  best  judge  of 


BORN  TO  BE  POOR.  141 

results  in  this  formation  process,  best  comprehend  the  sources 
and  causes  of  growth,  and  guess  nearest  at  future  supply  and 
demand,  are  the  ones  who  can  invest  with  the  best  chances  of 
profit.  But  some  people  are  born  to  be  poor.  Opportunities 
to  get  rich  may  be  as  numerous  as  blackberries,  but  are  uever 
observed.  Others  are  born  to  spend  a  little  more  than  they 
earn.  Beginning  life  on  a  small  salary,  they  live  a  little  be- 
yond it,  and  when  they  grow  into  a  large  salary  they  live  a 
little  beyond  that  also.  They  are  always  behind,  and  no  con- 
dition or  circumstances  in  life  will  set  them  ahead.  They  are 
gauged  wrong,  bound  to  spend,  borrow  and  beg,  but  under  no 
circumstances  to  accumulate.  Others  are  industrious,  perse- 
vering, hopeful,  but  visionary,  and  unlucky.  They  always  turn 
up  the  wrong  card,  bet  on  the  wrong  horse,  buy  the  wrong- 
town  lot,  or  invest  at  the  wrong  time.  Providence  is  down  on 
them ;  in  other  words,  He  neglected  to  put  into  their  heads 
penetration,  comprehension  and  calculation.  He  put  them  in- 
to a  ship  with  good  sail  and  insufficient  rudder.  New  Mexico, 
with  all  her  golden  opportunities,  does  not  promise  wealth  to 
either  of  the  classes  above  described.  They  will  be  as  blind 
to  opportunities,  as  extravagant  in  living,  and  as  unlucky  in 
calculation,  here  as  in  the  east. 

The  social  atmosphere  of  Alberquerque  is  no  more  -pleasing 
than  at  Socorro.  A  standard  of  morals  has  not  yet  been  erect- 
ed. Scripture  is  not  floating  around  loose  in  the  streets.  The 
devil  seems  to  be  in  command  of  enterprises  and  principles  in- 
tended for  human  elevation.  There  are  good  people  here,  lots 
of  them,  no  doubt,  but  they  are  not  on  the  war  path.  The  sa- 
loons, with  three  to  ten  gambling  tables  each,  are  in  the  lead, 
and  the  ring  of  bottles,  the  rattle  of  high  ball,  the  click  of  bil- 
liards and  the  shake  of  dice,  accompanied,  by  the  roundest  and 
loudest  profanity,  fill  the  air.  Set  down  in  Vermont  any  of  the 
business  streets  of  Alberquerque  for  just  one  evening,  and  the 
Governor,  with  all  his  staff  and  all  the  Sheriffs,  would  take  to 
the  woods,  under  the  impression  that  hell  had  broke  loose,  and 
that  any  attempt  at  legal  restraint  would  be  suicidal.  The  om- 
nipresent revolver  seems  to  be  the  only  law  of  the  town,  and, 


142  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

strapped  to  the  belts  of  men  half  full  of  rum,  this  law  is  not 
altogether  a  conservator  of  peace.  But  this  will  not  always 
be.  The  churches  and  their  few  supporters,  are  quietly  at 
work.  That  element  will  increase,  and  ere  long  will  grow 
bold  and  aggressive.  But  it  is  very  timid  now  in  Alberquer- 
que. 

We  met  here  Ned  Poland,  of  St.  Johnsbury,  who  has  been  in 
the  place  a  month,  and  has  a  position  in  the  A.  &  P.  offices.  In  re- 
ply to  how  he  liked  Alberquerque,  Ned  shrugged  his  shoulders 
and  said,  "Umph !"  in  genuine  Apache  accent.  He  has  been 
out  through  the  Indian  country,  and  picked  up  a  few  expres- 
sions. He  thinks  the  town  will  grow  into  a  great  place,  but  he 
is  not  prepared,  as  a  Vermont  church  goer  and  a  total  abstinence 
man,  to  eulogize  the  moral  and  temperance  leanings  of  the  com- 
munity. As  a  lover  of  statute  law,  he  is  not  prepared  to  state 
that  he  has  observed  any  of  its  restraining  influence  over  the 
Alberquerquite. 

Ned  went  over  to  Billings,  50  miles  west,  the  other  day,  where 
he  had  an  e}Te  tooth  cut  in  New  Mexico  style.  After  supper  he 
put  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  and  sauntered  out  for  air  and  prome- 
nade. As  he  turned  a  corner  of  the  street  he  run  his  face 
against  a  cocked  six  shooter,  and  a  coarse  voice  saluted  him 

with  the  following  welcome  :     "You  G-d  d d , 

hold  up  your  hands  I"  Ned  never  accepted  an  invitation  with 
more  promptness.  As  he  stood  looking  down  the  neck  of  that 
Mexican  compeller,  a  second  person  went  through  his  pockets, 
and  relieved  him  of  a  gold  watch  and  chain  and  $87  in  cash. 
After  finishing  the  job,  one  of  the  roughs  asked  him  where  he 
was  going  to  get  his  breakfast.  Ned  replied,  ''You  have  got  my 
last  penny  and  grub  will  be  short."  Upon  this  the  rough  hand- 
ed him  fifty  cents,  and  said,  "There,  that  will  pay  lor  your  break- 
fast, and  after  that  you  can  find  a  job."  Before  this  event  Ned 
was  a  "tenderfoot,"  but  now  he  considers  himself  acclimated, 
and  carries  an  independent  head  and  wears  a  knowing  expres- 
sion. 

We  stop  here  at  the  Armijo  House,  one  of  the  best  in  the 
territory,  kept  by  the  genial  and  popular  Scott  Moore,  who  is 


PRO  FITS  OF  REAL  ESTATE  A  GENC  T.  143 

full  in  the  faith  that  Alberquerque  is  the  New  Mexico  pivot. 
Scott  is  fully  confident  that  every  dollar  invested  in  Alberquer- 
que real  estate  will  improve  50  to  100  per  cent,  every  six 
months  for  two  years  at  least.  Having  seen  it  improve  100  to 
300  per  cent,  during  the  past  six  months,  his  conclusion  does 
not  seem  so  very  extravagant,  after  all. 

The  principal  real  estate  office  here  is  that  of  Mack  &  Wheel- 
ock,  both  gentlemen  of  intelligence,  energy  and  reliability. 
Mr.  Mack  is  a  skillful  draughtsman,  and  has  charge  of  the  con- 
struction of  numerous  buildings  which  he  has  planned.  Their 
fee  for  selling  real  estate  is  5  per  cent.,  and  the  same  for  col- 
lecting rents,  when  they  have  charge  of  property  belonging  to 
non-residents.  Having  been  over  town  with  them,  examining 
lots,  noting  progress,  learning  prices,  and  talking  prospects,  I 
have  been  made  to  feel  the  burden  of  poverty  in  not  having  a 
million,  or  such  matter,  to  put  into  real  estate.  Nothing  seems 
surer  than  a  rapid  and  increasing  advance  for  two  or  three  years 
to  come.  Not  having  the  money,  I  have  been  led  to  envy  the 
real  estate  men  well  established  in  a  New  Mexico  town,  with  a 
daily  sale  of  lots  running  from  $1,000  to  $10,000,  and  a  remun- 
eration of  five  per  cent,  commission,  with  no  bad  debts. 


144  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


Run  No.  20. 


SITUATION  OF  SANTA  FE— BRIGHAM  YOUNG'S  SON  JOHN— A  REVOLVER 
VICTIM— THE  ANCIENT  POPULATION— ATTRACTIONS  OF  SANTA 
FE— SAN  MIGUEL  CHURCH— THE  OLDEST  HOUSE— POPULATION 
—WEALTH— LACK  OF  PUBLIC  SPIRIT— INDIFFERENT  TO  ARCHI- 
TECTURE—EFFECTS OF  THE  ATCHISON.  TOPEKA  AND  SANTA  FE 
—CLAIMS  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  SANTA  FE— MR.  GREEN  AND  HIS 
NEW  MEXICAN  DAILY— COURTS  AND  LAWYERS— CAPT.  C.  A. 
WOODRUFF— GAMBLING. 


Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  December  1,  1881. 

A  trip  to  New  Mexico  without  a  visit  to  the  oldest  city  on 
the  continent  would  not  be  complete.  So  here  we  are,  on 
the  identical  spot  inhabited  by  generations  of  people  prior  to 
the  time  of  which  we  have  the  written  history. 

Leaving  Alberquerque  at  seven  o'clock  this  morning,  we 
arrive  at  Lamy  Junction  at  one,  enjoy  one  of  Fred  Harvey's 
superb  dinners,  and  take  the  branch  road  for  this  place, 
eighteen  miles  distant.  The  train  starts  off  on  an  up  grade 
of  165  feet  to  the  mile,  and  winds  around  the  great  swells  of 
land  for  a  distance  of  10  or  12  miles,  when  it  goes  up  and 
down  over  the  grades,  till  it  reaches  the  old  town,  which  stands 
at  an  altitude  of  6,900  feet  above  the  sea,  and  where  they  say 
diseases  have  a  poor  chance  at  the  human  system. 

^On  the  train  from  Lamy  to  Santa  Fe,  was  John  W.,  son  of 
Brigham  Young,  a  keen,  bright,  business  man,  35  or  40  years 
of  age.    But  as  a  financier  I  am  told  he  is  not  a  success,  his  op- 


ANTIQUITY  OF  SANTA  FE.  145 

erations  being  conducted  on  a  plan  considerable  larger  than 
his  purse.  He  is  a  contractor  on  the  railroad,  is  running 
several  frontier  stores,  and  was  bound  for  Santa  Fe  for  goods 
and  bank  business.  John  still  holds  to  the  religious,  or  mat- 
rimonial, faith  of  the  old  gentleman,  and  is  quite  popular 
with  the  female  portion  of  the  church. 

The  train  also  had  on  board  a  visible  illustration  of  the 
custom  of  this  country,  in  the  shape  of  a  man  who  the 
evening  before  had  some  conversation  with  a  fellow-work- 
man about  a  pay  check,  and,  not  being  able  to  agree  in  the 
argument,  had  received,  by  way  of  "finally,"  the  contents  of 
the  other  fellow's  revolver  in  the  bowels.  He  was  being: 
coveyed  to  the  hospital  in  Santa  Fe  to  die,  as  the  doctor  told 
me,  though  the  victim,  suffering  intensely  as  he  did,  was  not 
aware  of  the  usual  fatal  consequences  of  a  ball  in  the  bowels. 

I  would  be  glad,  reader,  to  give  you  an  authentic  history  of 
Santa  Fe  prior  to  1539,  when  the  oldest  house  was  built,  and 
back  of  which  no  written  history  extends.  I  would  be  glad  to 
do  this,  but,  as  the  printers  say,  ''time  and  space  forbid,"  and, 
besides,  there  are  other  reasons,  among  which  may  be  men- 
tioned ignorance.  But  I  will  gratify  you  a  little  by  saying  that, 
prior  to  1533  the  locality  was  inhabited  by  human  beings,  as 
shown  by  the  remains  found  in  the  earth.  There  seems  to  be 
three  different  periods  at  which  this  valley  was  thickly  populat- 
ed. About  a  foot  below  the  surface  are  found  implements,  pot- 
tery, and  other  remains  of  a  generation  of  people  highly  skilled 
in  workmanship,  and,  for  aught  I  know,  as  far  advanced  in  civ- 
ilization as  is  the  present  generation.  A  few  feet  below  these 
remains  is  a  stratum  containing  numerous  evidences  of  another 
people,  less  advanced.  Below  this  is  a  third  stratum,  with  evi- 
dences of  still  another  people,  warlike,  rude  and  unskilled. 
What  period  of  time  these  several  existences  extended  over, 
and  how  far  apart  were  the  dates  between  each,  we  leave  to 
geologists  to  say.     It  is  beyond  our  ken. 

But  here  we  are,  in  a  valley  which  was  thickly  populated  by 
highly  civilized  people  way  back  somewhere  in  the  unknown 
10 


146  THE  EDITORS  RUN, 

past ;  way  back  beyond  the  startling  announcement  that  Co- 
lumbus had  discovered  another  continent.  As  we  look  back 
towards  this  unknown  date,  we  imagine  this  civilized  people 
digging  in  the  earth  for  relics  of  the  former  inhabitants,  and 
puzzling  their  brains  in  efforts  to  determine  the  date  of  their 
existence,  studying  their  character,  habits  and  occupations  from 
the  remains  dug  out  ot  the  earth.  Then  we  look  back  again 
farther  into  the  past,  let  out  a  few  more  links  in  the  imagina- 
tion, and  sit  down  with  the  generation  of  people  whose  relics 
are  in  the  second  stratum  of  earth.  We  see  them  hunting, 
fishing,  buildiug  houses,  tilling  the  soil,  keeping  school,  going 
to  meeting,  picking  quarrels  with  neighbors,  going  to  courts, 
getting  up  wars,  and  engaged  in  the  general  industries  and  ex- 
citements of  the  times.  But  we  have  nowhere  to  go  for  infor- 
mation except  into  the  alcoves  of  the  imagination,  a  source  so 
extremely  unreliable  that  we  dare  not  attempt  to  give  dates,  or 
state  anything  definite  with  regard  to  character,  habits,  occu- 
pation, complexion,  size,  language,  art,  ingenuity,  public  spirit, 
etc.,  etc.,  prevailing  among  this  generation  of  human  beings. 
But  we  see  them,  also,  digging  up  the  ground  for  evidences  of 
the  people  who  had  preceded  them  somewhere  in  the  misty 
past,  but  so  far  back  that  they  are  baffled  in  all  efforts  to  deter- 
mine the  date.  They  wonder,  the  same  as  we  do,  how  old  the 
world  is.  But,  as  the  chain  of  imagination  is  endless,  we  let  out 
more  links,  and  associate  with  another  people,  who  lived  when 
the  surface  of  the  valley  was  ten  feet  or  more  below  the  pres- 
ent plane,  cotemporaries,  perhaps,  with  the  shepherds  on  the 
plains  of  Abraham,  and,  may  be,  with  people  back  of  that  date. 
Who  knows  ? 

Among  the  numerous  attractions  of  Santa  Fe  the  following 
may  be  mentioned :  The  church  of  San  Miguel,  erected  by 
Franciscan  Friars,  and  containing  many  quaint  and  rare  paint- 
ings, one  bearing  the  date  of  the  twelfth  century  ;  the  plaza,  or 
public  square,  which  occupies  the  center  of  the  city,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  buildings  occupied  partly  for  traffic  and  partly  as 
the  offices  of  the  Territorial  Government ;  old  Fort  Marcy,  which 
is  said  to  be  built  upon  the  site  of  an  Aztec  fortification ;  the 


APPEARANCE  OF  THE  OLD  CITY.  147 

Bishop's  Garden,  where  many  fruits  and  flowers  thrive  un- 
der the  kindly  influences  of  irrigation  and  careful  cultivation  ; 
the  burros,  patient  and  grotesque  little  beasts  of  burden,  to  be 
met  on  every  corner ;  ancient  pottery,  made  by  the  Pueblo  In- 
dians, and  of  quaint  and  curious  design  ;  and,  lastly,  the  estab- 
lishment where  Mexican  jewelry  is  made.  The  city  is  built 
chiefly  of  adobe,  and  after  the  Oriental  style  of  architecture, 
flat  roofs,  and  a  small  court-yard  in  the  center  of  the  main 
house.  The  churches  and  public  buildings  also  follow  the  an- 
cient style  ol  construction.     The  streets  are  very  narrow,  like 


SAN  MIGUEL  CHURCH. 

a  back  alley  in  a  New  England  city,  irregular  and  dingy.  No 
matter  how  crowded,  they  are  to  a  New  England  man  lonesome 
thoroughfares.  When  traveling  those  streets  1  could  not  avoid 
the  feeling  that  a  good  many  persons  had  happened  into  a  back 
alley  at  about  the  same  time,  and  that  presently  the  street 
would  be  emptied  and  as  lonesome  as  the  house  of  death.  But 
they  are  always  full  of  business  people  and  sight  seers.  The 
stores  are  small,  have  small  glass,  and  are  painfully  wanting  the 
attractive  exterior  of  eastern  houses  of  like  commercial  impor- 
tance. 


148  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

The  old  church  of  San  Miguel  is  a  curiosity  indeed.  The 
church  was  built  in  1582,  is  100x60  feet  and  40  feet  high,  and 
has  come  down  to  the  present  generation,  notwithstanding  all 
repairs,  with  the  original  shape  and  size,  the  same  audience 
room,  the  same  walls,  the  same  overlays,  etc.  It  was  built 
over  in  1710,  but  the  overlays  and  inside  cornice  work  have 
the  original  jack-knife  carving,  and  show  the  struggles  of  that 
ancient  time  for  ornamental  architecture.  The  audience  room 
is  about  18x32  feet,  (this  is  guess)  with  two  little  wings  in 
the  altar  end.  In  the  opposite  end  is  the  gallery,  high  up 
under  the  ceiling.  The  old  church  had  outlived  five  genera- 
tions of  people  when  Washington  was  born. 


THE  OLDEST  HOUSE. 

The  little  mud  house  adjoining  the  church — the  first  house 
— built  in  1539,  is  still  occupied,  entrance  to  it  being  through 
a  door  which  swings  a  foot  or  more  from  the  ground,  and  is 
about  four  feet  high.  We  found  the  old  Mexican  occupant, 
who  has  lived  in  it  20  years,  sick  in  bed,  but  glad  to  see  us. 
His  family  consisted  of  wife  and  a  half  dozen  children,  with 
perhaps  twice  as  many  cats  and  dogs.  I  crawled  up  a  ladder, 
through  a  floor  two  feet  thick,  into  the  second  story,  and  there 
found   a  mud  floor,  the  same  as  below,  one  girl  and  several 


WEALTH  WITHOUT  PROGRESS.  149 

cats  and  dogs,  which  were  a  good  deal  exercised  over  the  un- 
expected intrusion. 

It  seems  strange  that  Santa  Fe,"  known  the  world  over  for 
generations,  should  consist  of  a  small  collection  of  mud 
houses,  and  contain,  all  told,  but  7,000  people.  But  it  has 
for  hundreds  of  years,  more  or  less,  been  the  only  distribut- 
ing point  in  New  Mexico,  and  the  only  place  in  the  territory 
which  people  in  the  outer  world  ever  heard  of.  All  the  old 
foot  trails  and  wagon  roads  in  this  part  of  the  world  radiate 
around  the  Santa  Fe  hub.  Other  villages  have  existed  from 
time  immemorial,  but  all  communication  with  the  outside  was 
through  Santa  Fe. 

I  climbed  the  hill  back  of  town,  and  stood  upon  the  earth 
works  built  by  Gen.  Kearney  in  1846,  and  looked  down  the 
mud  chimneys  of  the  old  city,  and,  to  judge  from  appearan- 
ces, I  should  decide  that  no  great  loss  would  be  sustained 
should  the  whole  collection  of  dirt  piles  drop  into  the  earth 
out  of  sight.  But  appearances  are  deceitful.  Santa  Fe  is 
rich.  She  has  several  merchants  doing  a  business  of  $1 ,000,000 
to  $2,000,000  a  year  in  some  of  those  flat  mud  houses.  She 
has  a  score  of  merchants  who  carry  stocks  which  surprise  ev- 
ery visitor.  But  the  curious  thing  is  that  she  has  stood  still 
so  long,  contented  with  getting  rich,  without  developing  some- 
thing in  the  way  of  that  public  spirit  and  progress  which  is 
characteristic  of  the  age.  She  has  the  best  climate  in  the 
world,  a  constant  sunshine,  is  located  in  a  beautiful  and  fertile 
plain,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  grand  old  mountains,  and 
has  for  hundreds  of  years  or  more  had  the  inducement,  the 
opportunity,  and  the  wealth  to  make  one  of  the  prettiest  and 
most  attractive  little  cities  on  the  continent.  But  she  has 
neglected  to  contribute  anything  to  nature,  and  has  drifted 
along  in  the  ruts  of  her  fathers,  grandfathers  and  great- 
grandfathers, accumulating  wealth,  but  contributing  nothing 
to  the  architectural  beauty  of  the  town.  Her  streets  are 
crooked,  irregular  and  narrow ;  her  houses  are  cut  off  flat  at 
the  top  of  the  first  story  windows ;  her  stores  and  shops  are 


150  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

dingy  looking  places,  compared  with  the  eastern  standard  of 
good  looks,  and,  in  most  cases,  are  altogether  too  small  for 
the  stock  they  contain  and  tHe  business  they  do.  I  could  not 
find  an  externally  attractive  private  residence,  and  yet  I  was 
assured  that  in  many  of  those  low  adobe  homes  there  was  ev- 
ery convenience  to  be  desired,  the  most  costly  finish,  the  rich- 
est carpets,  the  finest  upholstered  furniture,  and  all  the  luxu- 
ries and  comforts  which  money  would  buy.  This  is  unques- 
tionably true,  but  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  the  idea  with  the 
external  appearances. 

The  advent  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad, 
a  year  ago,  put  a  new  spirit  into  the  old  town.  Americans 
are  drifting  in,  and  old  things  and  old  ways  are  giving  way  to 
modern  style.  Even  the  brothers  and  the  sisters  are  vieing 
with  each  other  to  see  which  shall  erect  the  best  college,  and 
each  society  has  erected  one  which  would  be  a  credit  to  any 
city.  A  company  has  just  completed,  at  an  expense  of 
$35,000,  the  Palace  hotel,  a  large  two-story  and  finely  finished 
building,  with  two  wings  and  a  hundred  splendidly  furnished 
sleeping  rooms.  One  of  the  old  mud  churches  is  coming 
down,  and  a  fine  stone  edifice,  of  modern  make,  is  going  up 
in  its  place.  Several  fine  frame  or  stone  residences  and  stores 
are  going  up  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  gas  has  been  put 
in,  water  has  been  brought  from  five  miles  away,  the  telephone 
exchange  reaches  all  the  principal  places  of  business  and  res- 
idences, and  the  town  is  preparing  to  besiege  Congress  and 
the  Territorial  Legislature  for  appropriations  for  a  new  Capi- 
tol building,  of  modern  proportions  and  architecture.  The 
American  element  has  worked  up  old  Santa  Fe  to  realize  that 
some  one  of  the  growing  towns  in  the  State  will  ask  for  and 
secure  the  Capitol,  unless  she  keeps  pace  with  the  times  and 
deserves  to  retain  it.  Since  the  immigration  commenced, 
Santa  Fe  has  secured  her  part,  and  she  really  thinks  she  can 
hold  her  old  position  as  the  most  important  and  influential  town 
in  the  territory.  She  has  the  political  center  and  the  military 
headquarters.     She  claims  a  good  mineral  region  within  25 


SANTA  FE'S  ADVANTAGES  AND  PROSPECTS.  151 

miles,  a  portion  of  which  is  now  being  worked.  She  has  a 
fine  agricultural  and  fruit  region.  She  has  the  decided  lead 
in  church  influences,  which  in  a  Catholic  country  is  a  good 
deal.  She  has  several  times  the  wealth  of  any  other  town  in 
the  territory.  She  has  the  ablest  professional  men  and  poli- 
ticians, two  of  the  most  widely  circulated  newspapers,  and 
the  best  educational  facilities  in  the  territory,  which  are  daily 
attracting  more  and  more  attention.  In  fact,  she  is  beginning 
to  .comprehend  the  elements  of  modern  progress,  is  adopting 
modern  manners,  modern  methods  of  business,  and  in  various 
ways  is  climbing  out  of  the  Santa  Fe  ruts  cut  three  centuries 
ago.  Although  at  present  she  has  only  a  spur  of  the  Atchi- 
son, Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad,  she  expects  communica- 
tion direct  with  the  outer  Avorld,  by  way  of  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  road,  soon  to  be  completed  as  far  south  as  Alberquer- 
que.  On  the  whole,  her  prospects  are  good,  provided  she 
permanently  relinquishes  her  old  Mexican  slow  coach  gate, 
and  keeps  pace  with  the  spirit  of  the  times.  She  can  sleep 
no  longer  and  hold  her  place.  She  must  wake  up,  abandon 
her  "dugouts,"  study  architecture,  cultivate  public  spirit, 
make  friends  with  modern  styles,  be  liberal  in  public  im- 
provements, and  then  she  will  be  all  right  and  safe  in  the  lead. 

In  a  conversation  with  Mr.  Green,  editor  of  the  New  Mexi- 
can daily,  I  learn  that  since  he  took  the  paper,  a  year  ago,  he 
has  run  the  business  up  from  $5,000  to  $40,000  a  year,  in- 
creasing the  help  from  7  to  40  hands.  He  is  surprised  at  the 
result,  and  accounts  for  it  on  the  ground  that  the  territory  is 
tilling  up,  and  that  the  old  inhabitants  are  beginning  to  take 
the  papers,  with  a  determination  to  keep  up  with  the  times. 
Mr.  Green  is  from  Providence,  R.  I.,  is  an  earnest,  intelligent 
man,  and  an  indefatigable  worker,  both  in  the  editorial  and 
mechanical  departments  of  the  paper.  The  New  Mexican  has 
had  a  long  and  a  dull  past,  but  is  to  have  a  bright  and  influ- 
ential future. 

Santa  Fe  jurors  are  composed  of  Mexicans  and  Americans, 
and,  as  the  average  Mexican  never  learns  to  speak  English, 


152  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

an  interpreter  is  employed  to  translate  sentences  as  fast  as 
spoken.  This  is  annoying  to  the  spread  eagle,  hifaluten  style 
of  the  American  lawyer,  who  is  repeatedly  checked  in  his  up- 
ward flight,  to  give  time  for  the  echo  of  the  interpreter.  This 
custom  may  destroy  the  howl  and  flourish  of  the  lawyer,  but 
the  loss  is  more  than  made  good  by  the  deliberation  and  di- 
rectness it  gives  to  his  argument. 

I  met  here  C.  A.  Woodruff,  formerly  of  Newark,  Vt.,  a 
Captain  in  the  subsistence  department  of  the  Army.  Mr. 
Woodruff  graduated  from  West  Point  ten  years  ago,  has  been 
in  the  service  ever  since,  and  has  earned  the  reputation  of  a 
brave  and  efficient  officer.  He  has  had  seven  wounds  in  his 
limbs,  most  of  them  compliments  from  the  red  faces. 

In  Santa  Fe,  gambling  and  other  saloon  amusements  are  as 
popular  and  as  plenty  as  in  the  newer  towns  of  the  territory. 
There  is  nowhere  any  check  to  the  gambling  mania,  and  no 
disposition  to  cloak  it  from  the  public  eye.  Nobody  goes  be- 
hind the  door  to  drink,  gamble  or  swear.  The  sessions  of  the 
legislature  bring  in  a  class  of  representative  men,  and  make  a 
community  which  puts  Washington  society  in  the  shade. 
Prices  are  about  the  same  as  in  the  southern  part  of  the  ter- 
ritory. The  Palace  hotel  charges  $4  a  day.  A  store  30x70 
in  good  location  brings  $150  a  month.  Rents  will  average  to 
pay  about  40  per  cent.  Salesmen  in  stores  get  $50  to  $150  a 
month. 


LAS  VEGAS.  153 


Run  No.  21 


FROM  SANTA  FE  TO  LAS  VEGAS— THE  OLI>  PECOS  CHURCH— EARLY 
HISTORY  OF  LAS  VEGAS— PROGRESS  OF  THE  NEW  TOWN— BUSI- 
NESS HOUSES — TRIBUTARIES — THE  HOT  SPRINGS — SCENERY — 
EASTERN  ELEMENT— H.  H.  HANSON— GAMBLING  SALOONS— DANCE 
HOUSES— A  DISCOURAGED  DANCE  HOUSE  PROPRIETOR— A  MEX- 
ICAN FANDANGO — FOLSOM'S  OPINION  OF  IT — RECEIPTS — THE 
HOTELS. 


Las  Vegas,  N.  M.,  December  3,  1881. 

The  distance  from  Santa  Fe  to  Las  Vegas  is  seventy-eight 
miles.  Leaving  the  old  city  at  eight  o'clock  Friday  morning, 
we  reach  Lamy  at  nine  and  take  the  main  line  of  the  Atchi- 
son, Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  for  this  place.  Between  Lamy  and 
Las  Vegas  the  road  passes  through  the  range  of  foot  hills 
running  down  that  section  of  the  territory,  and  the  scenery 
is  wild  and  grand.  The  region  is  known  as  the  celebrated 
Apache  canon,  years  past  the  hiding  place  of  the  blood-thirsty 
Apache,  and  it  is  interesting  now  because  of  the  wonderful 
accomplishments  of  the  builders  of  the  great  trans-continen- 
tal line  in  making  way  for  the  iron  horse  through  the  almost 
impassable  mountain  fastness.  The  road  boldly  dashes  through 
deep  cuts  and  along  precipices  from  which  a  view  of  the  scen- 
ery is  vividly  presented :  A  half  mile  distant  from  Levy  sta- 
tion, which  nestles  under  the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountains 
in  the  Pecos  valley,  stands  the  ruins  of  the  old  Pecos  church, 
built  according  to  account  in  1529,  or  ten  years  before  the 
first  house  in  Santa  Fe.     The  structure  is  in  the  form  of  a 


154  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

cross,  with  a  length  of  133  feet  and  a  width  through  the  wings 
of  fifty-seven  feet.  To  antiquarians  this  is  the  enchanted  spot 
in  New  Mexico.  The  old  church  is  built  of  adobe  brick,  with 
Avails  five  and  a  half  feet  thick,  the  walls  only  remaining.  The 
ruins  of  the  Aztec  village,  Cicuye,  are  about  200  feet  north 
of  the  old  church.  This  village  was  built  in  two  lines,  along 
a  high  wall,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  birth  place  of 
Montezumas.  It  was  here  the  sacred  fire  was  kept  burning 
until  the  abandonment  of  the  place  in  the  early  part  of  the 
present  century.  The  ruins  show  that  the  houses  were  built 
in  the  same  form  as  that  used  by  the  Pueblos,  with  the  first 
story  the  largest,  the  second  smaller  in  size,  and  so  on  to  the 
last,  each  story  having  entrance  by  a  hole  in  its  top,  reached 
by  means  of  a  ladder. 

Las  Vegas  is  the  second  town  in  the  territory,  having  a 
population  of  about  7,000.  Her  location  is  120  miles  from 
the  north  line  of  the  territory  and  417  from  the  south  line. 
Altitude  6,482  feet.  A  brief  history  of  her  beginning  we  ob- 
tain from  the  lips  of  Major  A.  Morrison,  one  of  the  old  pi- 
oneers in  the  place  :  In  1824  Baca  C.  de  Baca  obtained  from 
the  Mexican  government  a  grant  of  country  forty  by  twenty 
miles  in  extent,  embracing  500,000  acres,  including  the  Las 
Vegas  site.  The  object  of  the  grant  was  to  encourage  stock 
raising.  He  established  business,  but  the  Indians  molested 
him  and  he  soon  abandoned  the  grant.  In  1833  Miguel  Ro- 
mero came  here,  built  a  little  mud  house,  raised  a  crop  of 
beans,  and  in  the  fall  went  back  to  his  home  in  the  south,  to 
get  rid  of  the  Indians.  He  came  every  year  till  1840,  when 
he  moved  his  family  here.  The  first  American  settler  was 
L.  J.  Keithley,  who  came  in  1833,  and  is  still  here,  at  the  age 
of  seventy -two  years.  In  1835  a  company  of  Mexicans  ob- 
tained a  regrant  of  the  Baca  territory  >  for  the  purpose  of  col- 
onization, and  began  a  settlement  of  Old  town,  or  West 
Las  Vegas,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  depot.  In  1847 
the  old  town  numbered  about  500  Mexicans,  and  after  the  Mex- 
ican war,  which  terminated  that  year,  a  new  growth  set  in. 


EARLY  HISTORY  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  LAS   VEGAS.  155 

In  1857  the  heirs  of  Baca  woke  up  and  claimed  possession 
under  the  first  grant.  A  suit  was  started  in  the  territorial 
court,  and  from  thence  went  to  the  United  States  court  at 
Washington.  The  court  and  Congress  compromised  by  giv- 
ing the  heirs  500,000  acres  of  land  in  five  several  locations  of 
100,000  each,  thus  leaving  the  title  to  the  original  Baca  grant 
good  in  the  second  grantees.  In  1860  the  population  had  in- 
creased to  about  2,500,  among  whom  were  fifteen  or  twenty 
American  families.  During  the  rebellion  the  town  was  in  a 
flourishing  condition  and  increased  to  about  3,000,  where  it 
stood  till  July,  1879,  when  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa 
Fe  railroad  put  in  its  appearance,  and  East  Las  Vegas  began 
its  existence  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  depot.  To-day  old 
town  and  new  town  have  nearly  grown  together  and  claim  a 
population  of  about  7,000  people.  The  wealth  is  still  in  the 
old  town,  but  the  enterprise  and  push  is  in  the  new.  It  has 
had  a  steady  and  prosperous  growth  from  the  beginning,  and 
last  summer  it  had  a  regular  boom,  and  her  town  lots  more 
than  doubled  in  a  few  months,  while  many  of  them  quad- 
rupled. 

Vegas  is  enterprising.  The  other  towns  in  the  territory 
just  springing  into  existence,  say  she  is  windy  and  gets  her 
prominence  on  the  strength  of  blowing.  There  is  some  truth 
and  much  envy  in  this  charge.  She  is  not  modest  in  setting 
up  her  claims,  but  she  has  something  really  worth  bragging 
about.  She  has  the  most  energetic,  public  spirited,  driving- 
set  of  business  men  in  the  territory.  This  element  alone  will 
make  a  successful  town,  because  they  are  up  early,  watch 
their  opportunity,  and  keep  ahead.  During  her  brief  exis- 
tence she  has  built  up  several  streets  with  nearly  solid  one 
and  two  story  blocks,  built  a  horse  railroad  from  the  depot  to 
old  town,  supplied  the  city  with  gas,  put  in  a  telephone  ex- 
change, established  two  daily  papers,  organized  a  police,  put 
in  a  line  of  public  water  works  six  miles  long,  with  a  head 
475  feet  high,  started  an  academy,  a  female  seminary,  given 
good  support  to  public  schools,  organized  two  or  three  church- 


156  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

es,  built  two  or  three  good  hotels  and  a  number  of  others 
not  so  good.  Most  of  the  work  has  been  done  by  individual 
enterprise,  subscription  and  corporations.  There  is  no  terri- 
torial law  for  organization,  and  consequently  no  town  debt. 
Even  the  police  is  supported  by  part  payments  from  the  coun- 
ty coupled  with  individual  subscriptions.  The  best  carriage 
factory  in  the  territory  is  located  here,  but  the  work  is  most- 
ly confined  to  repairing  and  the  manufacture  of  heavy  wag- 
ons. There  are  two  commission  houses  in  the  place,  doing  a 
business  of  500,000.  There  are  two  banks,  and  the  published 
statement  of  one  of  them  shows  $50,000  capital  and  $557,- 
000  deposits.  This  bank  lets  money  at  18  per  cent.,  makes 
a  semi-annual  dividend  of  20  percent.,  and  lays  by  a  large 
surplus. 

San  Miguel  county,  of  which  Las  Vegas  is  county  seat,  is 
among  the  best  in  the  territory,  numbers  25,000  people,  and 
its  settlement  is  hardly  commenced. 

Vegas  claims  tribute  from  a  rich  stock  country,  extending 
east  for  125  miles,  and  has  for  some  years  been  the  principal 
wool  market  in  the  territory.  She  has  a  good  mineral  region, 
though  not  as  good  as  Socorro,  and  will  always  reckon  safely 
upon  that  as  a  considerable  source  of  tribute.  With  irriga- 
tion she  can  count  on  a  good  deal  from  cultivation  of  the  soil. 
As  population  increases  this  industry  will  grow  into  respecta- 
ble proportions.  The  soil  is  rich,  and  productive  in  corn, 
wheat,  oats,  barley,  beans,  vegetables,  hay,  and  some  kinds 
of  fruit. 

She  has  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad,  will 
have  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande,  a  short  line  to  the  Hot 
Springs,  six  miles  distant,  and  expects,  among  others,  the 
road  from  St.  Louis  via  Vinita  in  the  Indian  Territory,  and 
one  through  the  Pecos  Valley  to  Galveston,  Texas. 

The  celebrated  Hot  Springs  are  situated  four  miles  from 
Las  Vegas,  in  a  beautiful  canon,  that  winds  romantically 
through  the  Spanish  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
Springs  have  an  altitude  of  6,400  feet  and  are  22  in  number, 


THE  HOT  SPRINGS.  157 

with  a  temperature  varying  from  123  °  to  140  °  Fahrenheit. 
The  efficacy  of  the  waters  is  established  by  the  experience  of 
the  native  population,  and  also  by  the  numerous  cures  effect- 
ed since  the  first  general  recognition  of  the  resort,  incident  to 
the  opening  of  that  region  to  tourists  by  the  Atchison,  Tope- 
ka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad.  The  accommodations  for  visitors 
are  unsurpassed.  The  bath  house,  200x42  feet,  two  stories 
high,  has  all  the  modern  improvements  and  facilities  at  hand 
for  shower,  spray  and  tub  baths.  A  fine  hotel  has  also  been 
built,  with  broad  piazzas,  commodious  sleeping  rooms,  and 
large  parlors,  all  elegantly  furnished  by  the  omnipresent 
Fred  Harvey,  who  knows  how  to  keep  a  hotel  on  the  most  ap- 
proved modern  plan.  This  large  and  elegant  house,  together 
with  boarding  houses  and  cottages,  furnish  not  only  comfort- 
able but  even  luxurious  accommodations  to  scores  of  invalids 
and  summer  travelers.  Around  the  Springs  is  growing  up  a 
village  of  beautiful  cottages,  and  as  a  fashionable  resort  it 
will  soon  be  reckoned  among  the  most  attractive  and  health- 
giving  in  the  Rocky  range.  During  our  stay  here  we  took 
a  spray  bath  at  the  hands  of  Dr.  Oliver,  and  after  an  hour  of 
soaking,  rubbing  and  spatting  he  decided  we  were  clean.  It 
takes  longer  in  some  cases.  He  was  obliged  to  keep  the  Gov- 
ernor in  15  minutes  over  the  hour. 

The  scenery  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Springs 
is  as  enchanting  as  could  be  imagined.  Following  the  Galli- 
nas  river  to  its  source,  a  succession  of  lovely  prospects  is 
constantly  presented  to  the  eye.  Trout  are  plentiful.  Large 
and  small  game  are  abundant  in  the  mountains,  and  those  who 
prefer  the  rifle  to  the  rod  will  find  their  time  profitably  em- 
ployed in  hunting  the  bears,  deer,  and  animals  of  a  lesser 
size. 

I  discover  more  of  the  eastern  element  in  Las  Vegas  than 
in  any  of  the  towns  below.  Half  of  the  population  are  Mex- 
icans, but  a  New  England  man  finds  plenty  of  genial  associ- 
ates. The  educated  Mexican  is  good  company  enough  for 
any  one,  and  he  mingles  more  with  Americans  than  with  his 


158  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

own  race.     The  church  element  is  working  away,  but  as  yet 
is  very  quiet. 

A  stroll  about  town  of  an  evening  is  sufficient  to  convince 
one  that  the  saloons  and  gambling  element  is  still  far  in  advance 
of  the  moral  element.  I  met  here  H.  H.  Hanson,  formerly  of 
Derby,  Vt.,  superintendent  of  telephone  construction,  and,  in 
order  to  give  an  idea  of  New  Mexico  morals,  he  conducted  me 
through  about  two  dozen  gambling  saloons  and  dance  houses. 
To  one  brought  up  under  the  drippings  of  a  New  England 
sanctuary,  the  scenes  appeared  like  a  second  edition  of  pande- 
monium. Each  saloon  contained  a  bar,  from  four  to  a  dozen 
gambling  tables,  and  all  were  crowded  with  a  motley  collection 
of  people,  from  the  genteel  down  through  the  different  grades, 
races  and  colors  of  human  beings,  in  all  degrees  of  liquor,  from 
nearly  sober  to  dead  drunk,  talking  loudly  in  different  langua- 
ges, and  giving  especial  emphasis  to  "cuss  words."  A  visit  to 
Las  Vegas  saloons  conveys  a  poor  impression  of  Las  Vegas 
morals.  In  a  conversation  with  a  dance  house  keeper  next 
morning,  we  found  that  his  business,  as  profitable  as  it  ap- 
peared, was  not  paying.  He  said  the  "d d  law  and  authori- 
ties" were  just  about  killing  it.  He  had  to  pay  a  $5  license  for 
every  evening's  dance,  with  a  town  license  and  a  territorial  li- 
cense besides.  The  courts  fine  the  houses  heavily  every  term, 
and  if  auybody  happens  to  get  shot  in  the  house,  "two  to  one  the 
keeper  gets  prosecuted  outside  of  a  term  of  court."  Landlords 
charge  a  "h-11  of  a  rent,"  $100  or  $150  a  month,  for  a  room. 
Sales  at  the  bar  are  light  during  day  times,  because  people  fear 
the  girls  will  brush  up  to  them  for  a  treat  when  they  come  to 
the  bar.  On  the  whole,  he  said,  the  business  is  not  what  it  was, 
and  he  should  quit  it  unless  rents  came  down  and  the  authori- 
ties and  public  sentiment  gave  it  a  better  encouragement.  He 
was  a  discouraged  business  man,  and  was  evidently  making  up 
his  mind  that  Las  Vegas  did  not  appreciate  business  enterprise. 
When  the  average  saloon  and  game  table  tender  begins  to  talk 
as  this  dance  house  keeper  talked,  it  will  be  evidence  that  the 
better  sentiment  is  getting  at  the  top.  When  such  towns  as 
Las  Vegas,  Alberquerque,  Santa  Fe,  Socorro  and  Silver  City, 


A  MEXICAN  FANDANGO.  159 

and  other  centers  of  population,  set  their  faces  firmly  against 
gambling  and  other  amusements  of  corrupting  character, it  will 
be  an  important  step  towards  clearing  towns  and  surrounding 
mountains  of  roughs,  rustlers,  revolvers,  etc.,  and  of  inducing 
immigration  of  the  best  class  of  people.  But  with  such  a  leg- 
islature as  usually  meets  at  Santa  Fe  it  is  difficult  to  get  a  law 
passed  having  in  view  the  moral  elevation  of  the  human  family. 

During  our  first  visit  to  Las  Vegas,  on  Thanksgiving  Day, 
we  had  an  opportunity  to  attend  a  Mexican  fandango.  It  was 
a  long  way  back  of  the  old  town,  in  a  low  mud  dance  house,  and 
we  expected  to  find  it  purely  Mexican,  but,  instead  of  that,  it 
was  half  and  half,  the  women  being  Mexican,  and  the  men 
Americans.  It  was  a  hotch  potch,  and  J  won't  attempt  to  de- 
scribe it.  But  as  a  matter  of  curiosity  it  paid.  Folsom  said 
the  girls  were  not  pretty,  I  always  appeal  to  him  on  that  sub- 
ject, as  he  is  in  the  observation  business,  and  his  judgment  is 
reliable.  There  was  not  a  woman  there,  he  said,  who  could 
hold  a  candle  to  that  Pueblo  maiden  up  in  Taos.  The  girls 
were  not  attractive  in  feature  or  dress,  but  the  comfort  of  the 
thing  was  they  did  not  know  it.  They  had  reason  to  infer 
otherwise,  because  well  dressed  clerks  in  the  stores  and  saloons 
of  town  gave  them  good  patronage,  converting  the  "greaser" 
into  a  wall  flower,  obliged  to  wait  for  favors  from 
the  girls  till  the  Americans  made  room.  The  music  on  the  oc- 
casion consisted  of  a  fiddle  and  a  guitar,  which  was  a  full 
band  for  such  occasions.  The  room  was  thick  with  tobacco 
smoke,  rum  breath,  the  fumes  of  perspiration,  and  adobe  dust. 
But  the  enjoyment  was  high  prime,  and  our  curiosity  was  un- 
adulterated. 

The  receipts  for  the  house  are  taken  at  the  bar,  the  man 
leading  his  partner  up  after  each  dance,  and  paying  fifty 
cents  for  two  drinks  and  the  dance.  I  never  saw  a  girl  re- 
fuse  the  drinks,  nor  hesitate  to  take  a  cigarette  or  cigar.  The 
same  custom  prevails  in  the  American  dance  houses.  As  a 
general  rule  the  American  girls  cannot  swear  with  as  much 
force  and  eloquence  as  their  partners,  but  they  try  to  all  the 


160  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

same,  and  appear  to  be  satisfied  with  their  accomplishment. 
Not  understanding  the  Mexican  language,  I  cannot  report  what 
success  those  girls  have  met  with  in  acquiring  the  profane 
tongue,  but  as  the  roundest  oath  draws  from  them  the  smile 
of  approval,  I  infer  that  they  are  beginning  to  comprehend 
the  English  tongue  and  to  appreciate  its  accomplishments. 

An  enterprising  Yankee  hotel  keeper  could  make  a  fine 
thing  in  Las  Vegas,  as  there  is  not  a  good  hotel  table  set  in 
the  place.  If  the  landlords  are  good  providers,  the  material 
is  spoiled  in  the  hands  of  the  cook.  There  is  a  Mexican  or 
"wild  Injun"  flavor  in  every  dish.  There  is  no  excuse  in  a  cow 
country  like  this  for  a  landlord  to  set  before  his  guests  oleo- 
margarine or  condensed  milk.  Butter  and  milk  ought  to  be 
abundant  and  of  the  genuine  kind,  but  they  are  not  found  in 
Las  Vegas  hotels  to-day.  The  reader  can  be  assured,  how- 
ever, that  a  year  hence  Las  Vegas  and  every  other  prominent 
town  in  the  territory  will  have  one  or  more  finely  equipped 
and  well  kept  hotel. 


IN  RA  TON,  NE  W  MEXICO.  161 


Run  No.  22. 


THE  QUARTETTE  SEPARATE— RATON— ITS  BOOM— GOING  TO  MEET- 
ING—EARNESTNESS OF  PIONEER  SABBATH  SCHOOL  WORKERS- 
RAILROAD  SHOPS— COAL  MINING— AGRICULTURE— THE  SUNDAY 
LAW— PAUL  DuCHAILLU— VISIT  TO  THE  MINES— TAKING  PHOTO- 
GRAPHS—RATON AS  A  RESIDENCE  LOCALITY— LABOR,  PRICES  AND 
RENTS— OLD  VERMONTERS— HOPE  THE  ESSENCE  OF  HAPPINESS. 


Raton,  N.  M.,  December  5,  1881. 

We  left  Las  Vegas  last  Saturday  morning  on  the  freight, 
riding  eighty  miles  in  a  caboose,  with  extra  position  for  ob- 
servation, to  Wagon  Mound,  where  the  quartette  disembark- 
ed, M.  M.  and  Folsom  to  renew  their  struggles  with  Uncle 
Pinkerton  in  relation  to  the  boundary  line  on  the  Nolan  grant, 
and  the  Governor  and  I  to  wait  for  the  next  train.  A  good 
dinner  of  ham,  venison,  bread,  cow  butter  and  cow  milk,  was 
furnished  by  an  occupant  of  one  of  those  little  mud  houses, 
and  it  was  in  pleasant  contrast  with  the  oleomargarine,  con- 
densed milk  and  Mexican  flavors  of  the  Las  Vegas  hotel.  After 
dinner  the  club  disbanded,  and  M.  M.  and  Folsom  started  for 
home,  sixty  miles,  by  private  team,  M.  M.  to  put  on  the  work 
harness  and  arrange  the  management  of  the  Maxwell  Land 
company,  and  Folsom  to  continue  dwelling  upon  the  charms 
of  the  Pueblo  maiden  in  Taos.  .  The  trip  has  been  one  of 
much  profit,  because  M.  M.'s  knowledge  of  the  country,  cus- 
toms of  the  people  and  of  the  Mexican  language,  served  as  a 

territorial  directory  and  encyclopedia,  and  was  a  sort  of  ap- 
ii 


162  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

pellate  jurisdiction  for  all* questions  of  dispute.  It  has  been 
a  trip  of  pleasure,  because  the  quartette  was  harmonious  and 
contented,  taking  things  as  they  came,  making  the  best  of  ev- 
erything, substantially  agreeing  in  all  movements  and  utter- 
ing no  complaints.  It  would  be  proper,  perhaps,  to  except 
the  Governor,  whose  exclamations  of  "A-a-h-h !"  "Lame 
shoulder  !"  "Didn't  sleep  a  wink  !"  etc.,  were  looked  for  regu- 
larly every  morning,  as  he  rolled  out  of  bed.  But  they  oc- 
casioned no  trouble,  being  good  naturedly  received  as  stereo- 
typed excuses  for  habits  of  late  rising. 

At  4  o'clock  we  took  the  train  and  arrived  at  Raton  at  8. 
The  early  Spanish  explorers  discovered  on  the  top  of  one  of 
the  mountains  which  divides  Colorado  and  New  Mexico,  the 
form  of  a  rat ;  hence  Rat-on  mountain,  and  hence  Rat-on  vil- 
lage. This  is  a  little  town  just  started  at  the  foot  of  the  Raton 
pass,  9  miles  below  the  tunnel,  which  is  on  the  dividing  line 
between  New  Mexico  and  Colorado.  Altitude  of  the  town 
6,688  feet  above  the  sea.  Santa  Fe  freighters  and  staoe  men 
will  remember  the  locality  as  Willow  Springs.  The  little  mud 
house  used  as  their  first  stopping  place  in  New  Mexico  still 
stands,  at  the  east  end  of  the  new  village.  The  depot  was  built 
here  in  the  fall  of  1880,  at  which  time  Otero,  five  miles  be- 
low, was  aspiring  to  be  the  town  of  the  locality.  But  the 
railroad  decided  to  locate  their  division  repair  shops  here  a 
year  ago,  and  from  that  time  Raton  began  to  grow  slowly. 
The  Maxwell  Land  Company,  whose  grant  extends  10  miles 
north  of  this  point,  deeded  the  lower  side  to  a  town  company, 
to  be  platted  into  blocks  and  lots,  the  land  company  retaining 
a  half  interest  in  the  site  and  receiving  half  of  all  the  sales. 
In  May  the  Maxwell  Land  Company  made  a  favorable  and 
permanent  contract  with  the  railroad  in  relation  to  freighting 
coal,  and  at  once  opened  several  coal  mines  in  Raton  pass  and 
Dillon  canon.  The  coal  had  been  found  to  be  valuable  and 
exhaustless,  extending  over  thousands  of  acres  in  the  vicinity, 
and  the  demand  on  the  south  promised  to  be  almost  limitless. 
It  was  at  once  understood  that,  through  mining  and  railroad- 


THE  PITTSBURGH  OF  NEW  MEXICO.  163 

ing,  Raton  was  to  be  the  Pittsburgh  of  New  Mexico,  and  peo- 
ple flocked  in  from  everywhere  for  location.  A  little  village 
of  20  houses  has  in  seven  months  been  increased  to  200  or 
over,  residence  lots  have  gone  up  from  $50  to  $200,  and  busi- 
ness lots  from  $100  to  $500,  and  some,  on  front  street,  to  as 
high  as  $1,000.  But  the  boom  is  not  ended,  and  it  is  expect- 
ed that  1882  will  swell  Raton  into  a  town  of  3,000  people. 
Everybody  here  is  excited,  and  confident  of  winning  in  the 
New  Mexico  race  for  city  prominence. 

The  location  of  the  new  village  is  delightful,  being  high  up 
on  the  mountain  and  within  9  miles  of  the  "divide,"  but  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  foot  hills,  which  gives  it  grand  and 
charming  scenery.  The  locality,  too,  is  one  of  the  healthiest 
in  the  territory.  Another  thing  about  the  town  pleases  me  ;  it 
is  not  to  be  an  addition  to  an  old  Mexican  adobe  village.  It  is 
all  new,  and  the  countenance  of  the  '• greaser7'  is  a  rare  sight 
in  the  streets.  The  population  is  to  be  mainly  of  the  American 
element  from  neighboring  states  on  the  east. 

As  an  effect  of  this,  I  noticed  on  the  streets,  Sunday  morning, 
a  few  adults  and  children,  washed  and  dressed  in  their  best 
clothes,  all  tending  in  the  same  direction.  I  followed  on  and 
brought  up  in  a  little  unfinished  room,  used  as  a  school  house, 
where  Edward  Parsons  was  the  head  of  a  little  band  of  Sabbath 
school  workers,  every  member  of  which  was  alive  and  in  work- 
ing trim.  The  exercises  opened  with  the  familiar  hymn,  ul  am 
so  glad  that  our  Father  in  Heaven"  in  which  all  joined  with  an 
earnestness  and  a  ring  of  voice  rarely  heard  in  the  older 
schools  which  have  become  stereotyped  and  lazy.  After  the 
hymn  there  was  a  prayer,  followed  by  reading  from  the  super- 
intendent and  responses  from  the  school.  Then  came  the  les- 
sons in  classes,  recited  and  argued  with  the  earnestness  and  in- 
formality incident  to  pioneer  labor.  1  enjoyed  the  school  very 
much,  as  it  was  the  first  reminder  of  the  Sabbath  day  I  had  re- 
ceived in  New  Mexico. 

Railroading  and  coal  mining,  with  a  little  agriculture  and 
considerable  tribute  from  the  grazing  country,  are  relied  upon 
for  the  future  growth  of  Raton.     The  Atchison,  Topeka  and 


164  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

Santa  Fe  company  having  located  here  the  repair  shops  for  the 
New  Mexican  division,  which  embraces  nearly  500  miles  of 
road,  are  building  a  large  round  house,  a  complete  set  of  ma- 
chine and  repair  shops,  tenement  houses,  etc.,  and  will  keep  a 
permanent  force  of  400  to  600  men  here.  Of  itself  this  ele- 
ment would  make  a  good  town.  But  even  a  greater  growth  is 
expected  from  the  mining  interest.  During  the  summer  a  half 
dozen  openings  have  been  made  into  the  mountains,  and  a  force 
of  150  men  is  already  employed,  to  be  increased  to  1,000  or 
more  in  early  spring.  The  coal  beds  extend  over  thousands  of 
acres,  and  the  facility  for  mining  is  the  very  best,  entrance  be- 
ing made  into  the  side  ol  the  hills,  instead  of  the  more  expen- 
sive method  of  sinking  shaft.  The  coal  strata  are  from  three 
to  seven  feet  thick,  and  the  quality  the  very  best  soft  coal. 
Since  the  mines  were  opened  10  car  loads  a  day  have  been 
shipped,  and  the  continual  cry  is  "more  coal  I"  The  demand 
will  increase  with  the  settlement  of  the  territory,  which  will  be 
rapid,  and  this  has  induced  the  coal  company  to  increase  the 
working  force  to  1,000  men,  or  more,  as  soon  as  possible.  Coke 
ovens  are  also  going  up  in  the  Dillon  canon,  6  miles  from  the 
village,  in  which  locality  Blossburg  village  is  springing  up, 
soon  to  be  a  good  town,  and  one  of  the  feeders  of  Raton. 

In  the  way  of  agriculture  and  grazing,  Raton  stands  a  fair 
show  with  other  towns  now  springing  into  existence.  People 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  territory,  who  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  going  over  the  mountain  to  Trinidad  to  sell  produce 
and  obtain  supplies,  will  find  a  ready  market  and  good  supply 
stores  at  Raton.  This  will  stimulate  tillage  near  town,  and  in- 
crease tribute  from  that  source.  But  as  purely  an  agricultural 
locality  Raton  is  not  to  be  recommended.  She  must  rely  upon 
her  railroad  shops  and  her  coal,  and  get  what  she  can  from  ag- 
riculture, grazing  and  incidentals. 

We  said  the  little  village  contains  an  unusual  proportion  of 
the  American  element,  in  consequence  of  which  Sabbath 
schools  and  churches  have  been  organized.  We  say,  further,  that 
a  few  weeks  since  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  voted  to  close  the 
saloons  and  places  of  business  on   Sundays,  and  to  enforce 


RATON  MORALS.  165 

strictly  the  Sunday  law.  But  the  law  is  not  enforced.  The 
saloons  are  all  open,  billiards  and  gaming  tables  run  without 
hindrance,  and  drinking  is  common.  I  was  told,  however,  the 
people  have  not  forgotten  their  vote,  and  that  they  are  only 
waiting  for  some  Sabbath  outbreak  before  they  lock  horns  with 
the  evil  and  break  it  down.  The  truth  is,  they  are  a  little 
afraid,  and  dread  the  collision  with  the  saloon  element.  Good 
morals  are  shy.  in  this  country,  even  where  the  Yankee  ele- 
ment prevails. 

We  met  here  again  Paul  Du  Chaillu,  the  African  traveler, 
who,  with  his  artist,  Mr.  Burgamen,  and  Harry  Whigham,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Maxwell  Land  Grant  Company,  came  up  from 
Cimarron  to  take  views  of  the  coal  mines  and  the  scenery 
round  about.  The  meeting  was  a  surprise  and  resulted  in  a 
collision,  as  Du  Chaillu  attempted  to  take  me  down,  because  in 
a  former  letter  I  alluded  to  him  as  a  gentleman  of  60,  when 
the  truth  is  he  is  only  43.  The  statement,  he  feared,  might 
injure  his  matrimonial  prospects.  As  he  is  but  a  trifle  over 
five  feet  high,  weighing  a  hundred  pounds,  or  thereabouts,  he 
concluded  it  was  better  to  receive  an  apology,  with  a  promise  to 
"take  it  back,"  than  to  bother  himself  to  prostrate  250  pounds 
of  human  flesh,  done  up  in  a  package  of  bone  and  muscle  six 
feet  three  inches  high. 

After  the  matter  was  thus  arranged,  the  Governor,  and  1  re- 
ceived anjinvitation  to  accompany  the  party  up  the  mountain. 
An  engine  and  flat  car  was  provided,  and  the  above  named  per- 
sons, with  E.  G.  Savage,  Superintendent  of  the  coal  mine,  C. 
A.  Cannis,  editor  of  Raton  News,  and  George  C.  Whitiker,  the 
local  artist,  were  pushed  five  miles  up  the  hill  to  the  Savage 
mine,  where  the  artist  took  his  views,  while  the  others  of  the 
party  went  700  feet  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  to  examine 
the  mine  and  see  the  mode  of  operation  which  is  henceforth 
to  furnish  New  Mexico  with  fuel.  After  an  hour  spent  here, 
we  resumed  position  on  the  flat  car  and  were  pushed  four 
miles  further,  to  the  top  of  the  divide,  and  through  the  tun- 
nel, where  other  views  were  taken.  On  the  return  a  stop 
was  made  at  the  famous  "Devil's  Gap,"  four  miles  from  Ra- 


166  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

ton,  where  a  six  inule  team  was  intercepted  and  put  into  a 
negative  for  a  picture.  This  gap  is  a  narrow  cut  through  the 
rocks,  famous  among  the  old  Santa  Fe  freighters  as  the  nar- 
rowest pass  on  the  entire  line  from  Kansas  City  to  Santa  Fe, 
and  as  the  scene  of  many  murders  by  outlaws  and  Indians. 
Leaving  here  the  party  returned  to  town,  got  lunch,  and  then 
rode  six  miles  down  the  main  line,  to  Dillon  canon.  Here  we 
were  switched  off  and  run  up  the  canon  four  miles,  where  the 
company  have  opened  and  in  operation  five  or  six  mines,  and 
are  opening  others.  We  got  back  to  town  at  dark,  having 
during  the  day  passed  by  some  grand  scenery  and  viewed  the 
hope  of  Raton's  growth. 

Of  all  the  small  towns  in  New  Mexico  we  should  prefer 
Raton  as  a  place  of  residence,  because  of  its  healthy  loca- 
tion, of  its  grand  mountain  scenery,  and  of  the  good  charac- 
ter of  society  it  is  almost  sure  to  receive.  It  starts  off  well, 
with  the  better  sentiment  predominating,  which  is  sure  to 
dictate  manners  and  customs  as  the  town  grows  into  impor- 
tance. The  town  already  has  two  weekly  newspapers,  a 
bank,  three  hotels,  a  good  number  of  stores  and  shops,  three 
organized  churches,  each  of  which  has  purchased  a  lot  and 
will  build  in  the  spring,  and  a  countless  number  of  projects 
in  the  wind  to  take  form  and  being  at  once.  Everything  is 
on  the  buzz,  and  there  is  no  knowing  what  a  year  will  bring 
forth. 

Labor  of  all  kind  is  in  great  demand  and  commands  good 
pay.  Everybody  is  building  or  preparing  to  build.  Native 
pine  costs  $32  a  thousand,  and  Michigan  pine  $55.  The  lit- 
tle village  is  exceedingly  fortunate  in  having  a  mountain  of 
loose  stones  just  behind  it,  in  good  form  and  quality  for  build- 
ing. Several  blocks  and  houses  are  being  built  of  this  ma- 
terial.  Rents  pay  about  40  per  cent,  on  cost  of  property. 
Money  loans  readily  at  18  to  24  per  cent.,  the  common  rate 
throughout  the  Territory.  It  seems  big  to  Yermonters,  but 
is  all  regular  here,  and  will  be  for  some  years  to  come.  Men 
can  borrow  at  those  figures,  and,  if  reasonably  sharp  in  tak- 


RA  TON  PROSPECTS  AND  PRICES.  167 

ing  advantage  of  opportunities,  can  save  a  good  margin  of 
profit.  A  brick  yard  will  be  started  in  the  spring,  and  will 
find  ready  sale  for  all  the  building  material  it  can  manufac- 
ture. A  lumber  company  has  been  organized,  which  will  go 
into  organization  at  once,  and  in  a  few  months  building  mate- 
rial of  all  kinds  will  be  plenty.  The  lack  of  it  has  been  se- 
riously felt  and  has  retarded  growth  to  no  little  extent. 

I  have  met  here  George  C.  Whitiker,  who  formerly  was 
known  in  Caledonia  county  as  the  proprietor  of  a  four  wheel- 
ed photographic  saloon.  He  has  been  seven  years  in  Leaven- 
worth, Kan.,  and  has  just  moved  here,  to  "grow  up"  with  the 
country.  E.  J.  Scott,  son  of  John  Scott,  of  St.  Johnsbury, 
is  also  here,  employed  as  painter  by  the  Atchison,  Topeka 
and  Santa  Fe  road.  J.  A.  Chandler,  formerly  of  South 
Wheelock,  Vt.,  lives  in  Topeka,  but  I  met  him  here  in  charge 
of  a  supply  train.  His  business  is  to  go  over  the  entire  road 
twice  a  month,  with  a  train  to  deliver  supplies.  These  boys 
all  like  the  climate  and  appreciate  the  opportunities  of  this 
country,  but  their  testimony  is  that  a  dollar  will  buy  more 
social  pleasure  in  Vermont  than  two  will  buy  here. 

That  is  true  of  all  communities  struofglin^  into  existence. 

CO  o 

In  a  few  years  the  hurry  and  confusion  of  building  will  be 
over,  society  will  take  shape,  and  social  opportunities  will  in- 
crease. But  do  not  people  derive  quite  as  much  enjoyment 
from  efforts  to  build  up  and  form  society  as  they  derive  after 
the  society  is  formed?  The  want  of  society  stimulates  ef- 
forts in  that  direction,  and  the  effort,  coupled  with  the  hope 
and  expectation  of  success,  -is  where  the  enjoyment  comes 
from.  A  man  enjoys  the  operation  of  building  a  home  more 
than  he  enjoys  the  possession  of  it  after  completion.  Hope 
enters  very  largely  into  human  happiness.  Efforts  at  build- 
ing, progressing  and  improving  keep  hope  alive.  Happiness 
and  contentment  are  never  more  general  among  a  people,  than 
in  those  communities  struggling  to  build  up,  and  having 
in  their  surroundings  and  opportunities  favorable  prospects  of 
success. 


168  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


Run  No.  23 


THE  RATON  PASS— DICK  HUTTON— TRINIDAD  AND  HER  FAILURE  TO 
KEEP  AGREEMENTS  WITH  THE  RAILROADS— LOCATION  AND  IN- 
STITUTIONS—SOURCES OF  HOPE— PRICES— CITY  ORGANIZATION- 
LA  JUNTA  A  LONESOME  PLACE. 


La  Junta,  Col.,  December  7,  1881. 

Crossing  the  Raton  mountain  by  rail  will  always  be  an  ad- 
vertisement for  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  road, 
though  the  scenery  is  less  grand  than  that  through  the  White 
Mountain  Notch,  over  the  Alleghanies,  or  up  the  Arkansas 
canon  in  Colorado.  It  is,  however,  the  best  thing  on  the  line, 
and  one  of  the  attractive  points  on  American  railroads.  The 
maximum  grade  is  180  feet  to  the  mile  and  the  rise  from  Ra- 
ton is  just  1,000  feet  in  the  eight  miles.  It  is  the  highest 
elevation  on  the  entire  line,  being  7,688  feet.  The  engines 
used  between  Raton  and  Trinidad  have  sixteen  Avheels  and 
weigh  sixty-five  tons,  two  of  them  being  used  on  every  pas- 
senger train,  each  one  consuming  about  three  and  one-half  tons 
of  coal  in  making  the  ascent.  "It's  business,'' this  crossing 
the  Raton  pass. 

Part  way  down  the  northern  slope  is  the  residence  of  "Old 
Dich  Hutton,"  a  square,  two  story  adobe  house,  and  a  sort  of 
land  mark  in  the  mountains.  Dick  is  himself  an  old  land 
mark,  a  contemporary  with  William  Bent,   L.  B.   Maxwell 


IN  TRINIDAD,  COLORADO.  169 

and  Kit  Carson,  having  served  with  them  in  their  Indian 
ventures,  hunting,  etc.  From  his  place  the  great  Spanish 
peaks  are  visible  80  to  100  miles  away. 

You  have  heard,  reader,  of  Trinidad.  There  has  been  an 
old  Mexican  town  there  for  many  years,  but  the  Trinidad 
which  you  have  heard  about  started  in  1877,  when  the  Rio 
Grande  railroad  was  completed  to  Moro,  four  miles  west. 
Trinidad  merchants  were  a  little  too  sharp  with  the  railroads 
for  their  own  good.  The  Rio  Grande  wanted  a  subsidy  from 
them,  but  they  presuming  the  road  must  come  to  Trinidad, 
refused  to  contribute,  and  the  road  still  holds  its  southern  ter- 
minus at  Moro.  Not  satisfied  with  this  strike  of  financial  pol- 
icy, they  slopped  over  again  with  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and 
Santa  Fe  road.  For  certain  railroad  improvements  to  be 
made  there,  the  town  agreed  to  secure  the  right  of  way  be- 
tween La  Junta  and  Trinidad,  eighty-two  miles,  furnish  de- 
pot grounds,  give  320  acres  of  coal  lands,  and  pay  the  com- 
pany's city  taxes  for  five  years,  not  to  exceed  $2,500  a  year. 
In  default  of  this  the  town  was  to  give  $50,000  outright.  In 
fulfillment  of  the  agreement  they  secured  and  deeded  the 
right  of  way,  paid  a  $2,500  tax  one  year,  and  secured  depot 
grounds  and  coal  lands,  but  have  not  deeded  them  to  the  com- 
pany. Both  roads  are  now  lukewarm — ice-cold,  in  fact — 
towards  Trinidad,  and  have  concluded  to  let  her  "paddle  her 
own  canoe."  Moro  holds  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  and  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  managers 
have  gone  over  the  mountain  to  build  their  shops  and  start  a 
village  at  Raton.  But  Trinidad  "paddles"  with  commendable 
energy,  makes  fair  progress,  and  will  pull  into  a  port  of  some 
local  consequence,  though  she  begins  to  realize  that  the  friend- 
ship of  railroad  corporations  is  an  important  element  in  vil- 
lage navigation. 

The  location  is  snug  under  the  north  side  of  Raton  moun- 
tain, and  it  is  the  last  town  in  Colorado  to  catch  the  sunshine 
and  the  first  to  lose  it.  But  the  business  men  of  Trinidad  are 
energetic,  persevering,  and  made  of  material  which  succeeds 


170  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

with  half  a  chance.  The  town  has  a  population  of  4,000  peo- 
ple, good  blocks  of  stone  and  brick,  a  horse  railroad  two 
months  old,  gas  works,  telephone  exchange,  water  works, 
good  fire  department,  good  graded  school  building,  with  a 
liberal  spirit  to  support  it,  is  building  a  fine  court  house,  has 
one  of  the  best  hotels  in  the  territory,  just  completed — cost- 
ing $75,000  and  containing  80  rooms,  hot  and  cold  water, 
speaking  tubes,  elevator  and  every  modern  convenience.  A 
grand  opera  house  is  also  being  built,  100  feet  front,  and  fin- 
ished in  elegant  style.  There  are  two  daily  papers,  several 
literary  societies,  and  good  police  regulations,  but  poor  police- 
men at  present. 

The  sources  of  hope  are  a  good  grazing  section,  extending 
100  miles  east.  The  Prairie  Cattle  company,  with  capital  of 
$300,000,  have  their  headquarters  here.  They  have  the  Atch- 
ison, Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  road,  expect  connection  with  the 
Denver  and  New  Orleans  next  June,  also  the  Elmore,  Trini- 
dad and  New  Mexico.  They  have  railroad  expectations 
enough,  and  the  next  time  they  have  a  chance  to  carry  out  an 
agreement  with  a  railroad  corporation  they  are  going  to  see 
how  it  will  work  to  carry  it  out.  A  more  certain  element  of 
growth  consists  in  the  coal  mines,  which  have  opened  very  rich, 
and  are  daily  pouring  their  wealth  into  the  young  town.  The 
coal  is  considered  rather  better  than  that  at  Raton,  on  the  oth- 
er side  of  the  mountain,  but  this  claim  is  not  acknowledged 
at  Raton.  Over  1,000  tons  are  being  shipped  daily  to  all 
points,  and  the  demand  is  not  half  supplied.  The  500  men 
now  employed  in  the  mines  and  the  manufacture  of  coke  will 
next  summer  be  increased  to  1,500. 

As  an  indication  of  self-esteem,  it  will  be  proper  to  mention 
that  town  lots  for  residences  are  held  at  $50  to  $500,  and  busi- 
ness lots  of  25  feet  front,  from  $1,000  to  $7,000.  Rents  pay  a 
strong  25  per  cent.  Day  labor  $2,  masons  $4  to  $5.  Carpen- 
ters $3  to  $4,  and  are  scarce  at  that  price,  The  city  is  fortu- 
nate in  having  the  best  building  stone  and  fine  clay  for  brick 
in  the  immediate  vicinity. 


IN  LA  JUNTA,  COL.  171 

The  village  is  organized  under  the  statute  as  a  city  of  the 
second  class,  and  is  governed  by  a  mayor  and  six  aldermen, 
who  have  not  yet  held  office  long  enough  to  take  on  Alder- 
manic  proportions.  The  same  saloon  element  is  here  as  in 
New  Mexico,  nearly  as  plenty,  but  more  quiet.  It  recognizes 
the  fact  that  law  and  a  decent  public  sentiment  would  prevail 
in  case  of  a  collision.  It  is  satisfied  to  take  a  second  place,  and 
the  better  sentiment  seems  willing  to  tolerate  the  evil,  with 
that  understanding.  Trinidad  could  hardly  afford  to  drive  all 
the  tribute  from  saloons  to  some  rival  town.  All  she  aims  to 
do  ^s  to  regulate  them,  keep  them  within  the  limits  of  hu- 
man endurance,  and  in  wholesome  fear  of  the  executive  arm  of 
the  municipal  government.  While  she  succeeds  in  that  aim, 
she  is  up  with  the  best  towns  in  the  Rocky  mountain  range. 
A  stranger  feels  that  he  is  under  the  protection  of  law,  and  that 
he  can  perambulate  the  streets  after  dark  without  jumping  up 
at  every  noise  he  hears  to  let  a  bullet  pass  by  him.  This  is  in 
pleasing  contrast  with  the  feeling  one  experiences  in  New 
Mexico  towns,  especially  in  the  southern  part  of  the  territory, 
where  unkempt  hair,  a  dirty  face,  a  belt  of  revolvers  and  round 
and  frequent  oaths  appear  to  be  the  dominant  standard  of  man- 
hood. 

La  Junta  is  on  the  A.  T.  &  S.  F.  road,  82  miles  northwest  of 
Trinidad,  and  86  miles  west  of  the  Kansas  line.  At  this  point 
one  branch  of  the  road  goes  south  into  New  Mexico,  and  the 
other  goes  straight  west  to  Pueblo.  Here  a  large  granite  round 
house  is  being  built  and  a  large  amount  of  side  track  has  been 
located.  It  is  the  end  of  one  of  the  divisions  of  the  road,  and 
is  to  be  made  a  point  of  changing  engines,  conductors,  chang- 
ing cars,  etc.  On  the  strength  of  this,  the  prairie  round  about 
is  laid  off  into  lots,  and  the  price  put  sufficiently  high  to  pre- 
vent people  from  purchasing  to  any  great  extent.  This  is  a 
weakness  common  in  most  western  towns  struggling  into  exis- 
tence. It  kills  many  towns  outright,  and  retards  others,  but  some 
grow  in  spite  of  it.  One  could  not  conceive  of  a  more  lone- 
some place  than  La  Junta  on  which  to  build  a  town.  Not  an 
object  is  in  sight,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  north,  south  and 


172  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

east,  but  perfectly  flat  prairie.  About  80  miles  west  can  be 
seeu  the  Rocky  rauge  of  mountains,  looking  exactly  like  the 
rock-bound  coast  of  a  great  ocean,  but  they  are  too  far  away 
for  morning  walks,  and  never  will  contribute  much  to  the 
growth  of  the  village.  One  always  arrives  at  La  Junta  at  mid- 
night, where  he  has  to  wait  for  a  train  two  hours  behind  time. 
I  shall  not  settle  at  La  Junta,  reader,  and  I  advise  you  not  to. 

We  met  here  W.  W.  Borst,  division  superintendent  on  the 
line,  a  courteous  gentleman,  as  well  as  most  competent  rail- 
road official.  We  cannot  help  complimenting  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  road  in  selecting 
for  superintendents,  and  all  grades  of  train  service,  men  who 
are  polite  and  obliging  to  patrons  of  the  line,  prompt  to  as- 
sist, and  patient  in  answering  questions.  Every  road  ought 
to,  but  many  do  not,  make  this  trait  a  special  point  in  hiring. 
It  pays. 


OBLIGING  RAILROAD  MEN.  173 


Run  No.  24 


GRAND  CANON  OF  THE  ARKANSAS— 3,000  FEET  OF  PERPENDICULAR 
MOUNTAIN— RAILROAD  ENGINEERS  NOWHERE— THE  GOVERNOR'S 
EXCLAMATIONS— UP  IN  THE  SKY  AT  LEADVILLE— RAPID  GROWTH 
OF  THE  CITY— THE  RICPI  MINES  AND  SUDDEN  WEALTH  OF  INDI- 
VIDUALS—RAILROADS—ORDER FORCED  BY  THE  VIGILANCE  COM- 
MITTEE—THE WORST  SIDE— THE  GOVERNOR'S  HASTY  EXIT  FROM 
THE  THEATRE— CORRUPTING  PUBLIC  ENTERTAINMENTS— PRICES 
—A  LAWYER'S  FEE— FEMALE  HELP— DIMINISHED  POPULATION— 
LEADVILLE  PERMANENT. 


Leadville,  Col.,  December  9,  1881. 

Leaving  La  Junta  at  11  o'clock  Tuesday  morning,  we  travel 
straight,  west  64  miles,  and  reach  Pueblo,  stop  for  lunch,  and 
change  cars,  leaving  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe,  and 
taking  seats  in  a  narrow  guage  car  of  the  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande.  The  common  guage  rails  are  3  feet  8  inches  apart, 
while  the  narrow  guage  is  only  3  feet,  and  the  rolling  stock  is 
correspondingly  reduced  in  proportions.  Going  41  miles 
further  west,  we  reach  Canon  City,  at  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tains, the  oldest  city  in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  containing 
some  4,000  people.  A  mile  or  two  from  this  city  the  train  en- 
ters the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Arkansas. 

Close  your  eyes,  reader,  to  every  object  between  the  Atlan- 
tic coast  and  the  Rocky  mountains,  open  them  at  Canon  City, 
and  the  ride  through  this  wonderful  gorge  will  amply  pay  you 
for  all  time,  trouble  and  expense  of  the  trip.  The  distance 
from  Canon  City  to  Leadville  is  84  miles,  and  at  least  half  of  it 
is  through  immense  openings  in  the  mountains,  made  just  wide 


174  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

enough  for  the  passage  of  the  Arkansas  river.  I  took  position 
on  the  rear  of  the  train,  to  watch  the  big  mountain  faces  as  we 
roller]  under  them,  and,  before  we  had  passed  two  miles,  I  had 
exhausted  the  entire  vocabulary  of  surprise  exclamations,  and 
had  no  language  left  for  the  greater  wonders  beyond.  Perpen- 
dicular mountains  of  rock,  from  1,000  to  3,000  feet  high,  hang- 
ing over  the  head  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  will  give  an  occa- 
sion for  the  use  of  all  one's  adjectives  in  expressing  an  opinion 
of  the  situation.  The  fact  that  a  railroad  has  been  constructed 
through  this  immense  gap  in  the  mountains  is  scarcely  thought 
of.  The  mind  is  wrapt  in  wonder  at  the  hugeness  of  the  moun- 
tain faces,  as  they  look  down  into  the  cavity  between  them. 
One  wonders  at  the  convulsion  of  nature  which  produced  such 
tremendous  results.  He  wonders  when  it  was  done  ;  how  it 
was  done  ;  what  it  was  done  for ;  who  did  it ;  the  duration 
of  the  work ;  he  wonders  where  the  folks  all  were  while  it  was 
being  done  ;  if  any  of  them  got  confused,  were  injured,  jostled 
out  of  place,  lost  their  property,  or  got  mixed  up  in  boundary 
lines,  and  how  the  court  settled  the  confusion  of  titles  after- 
wards ;  he  wonders  if  anything  will  ever  be  done  again  in  the 
same  line  to  equal  it,  and  when.  He  wonders  if  the  hereafter 
will  reveal  to  the  human  mind  God's  wonderful  work  here,  af- 
fecting physical  geography,  human  history,  etc. ;  works  which 
will  never  cease  to  tempt  investigation,  but  have  ever  defied 
the  satisfactory  penetration  of  the  human  intellect.  He  solves 
no  conundrums,  but  keeps  on  wondering  to  the  end. 

I  do  not  want  to  do  injustice  to  the  engineer  who  put  the 
railroad  through  this  gap,  but  his  work  seemed  so  insignificant, 
compared  with  the  work  of  putting  the  gap  there,  that  I  almost 
forgot  him.  He  had  no  mountains  to  move  away,  to  raise  up, 
or  to  divide.  The  mountains  were  placed  there,  the  divide 
was  left,  and  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  shy  around  the  base  of 
them,  cut  a  little  here,  fill  a  little  there,  and  keep  twisting  and 
worming  till  he  got  through  the  gap.  If  the  eyes  are  closed 
to  the  work  of  the  mountain  maker,  and'  no  contrast  is  made 
between  that  and  the  work  of  the  engineer,  the  latter  will  re- 
ceive the  highest  credit  for  skill  in  his  profession. 


THE  GREAT  MOUNTAIN  GORGE.  175 

Speaking  of  exclamations,  reminds  me  of  the  Governor.  He 
was  sitting  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  rear  platform,  with  his 
face  on  the  top  of  his  head,  staring  at  the  great  rocky  heads 
as  the  train  passed  under  them.  He  was  talking  to  himself, 
and  we  noted  down  a  few  points  in  the  soliloquy,  of  which  the 
following  are  specimens.  As  we  rounded  the  first  turn  in  the 
canon  we  heard  the  words. 

"Gre-a-ate  JeHOSephat !" 

That  was  the  name  he  gave  the  first  overhanging  cliff",  and 
was  taken,  probably,  from  his  morning's  reading.  The  second 
surprise  drew  forth : 

"Christopher,  Co-lum-BUS  !" 

Suggested,  perhaps,  by  the  thought  that  Christopher  may 
have  had  a  hand  in  the  original  work.  But  I  think  it  was  fur- 
ther back  than  Christopher's  time.      This  was  followed  by, 

"Go-o-odfry  MIGHTY !" 

Which  to  me  seemed  much  more  appropriate. 

"Thunder  and  LIGETTning !" 

Was  not  bad,  but  "thunder"  was  poor  judgment,  a3  sound 
never  produces  such  results.  "Lightning"  alone  would  have 
been  better. 

"Jumping  Je-MI-ma!  " 

Job's  third  daughter.  It  is  possible  that  the  Governor  im- 
agined the  canon  was  built  in  Job's  day,  and  that  Jemima  cel- 
ebrated her  father's  recovery  from  the  boils  by  scaling  these 
dizzy  peaks  and  jumping  across  this  immense  gorge.  The 
Bible,  however,  makes  no  allusion  to  Jemima's  activity  in  this 
direction. 

"Beats  the  Devil !" 

Was  a  correct  conclusion. 

Having  passed  the  principle  sights,  the  Governor  returned 
to  the  car  and  sat  down  in  a  moody  silence,  as  if  disgusted  with 
his  efforts  to  frame  exclamations  suitable  to  the  occasion. 

On  the  route  we  passed  the  cities  of  South  Arkansas  and 
Buena  Vista,  away  up  in  the  mountains,  and  apparently  iso- 
lated from  the  rest  of  mankind.  But  they  are  not.  Buena 
Vista  is  a  beautiful  city  of  4,000  people,  and  is  at  the  junction 


176  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

of  the  road  coming  in  from  Denver  and  passing  over  the  di- 
vide to  the  rich  mining  fields  in  the  Gunnison  country. 

Leadville  is  125  miles  northwest  of  Pueblo,  and  is  10,200 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea — almost  at  the  top  of  the 
Rocky  range.  A  ride  of  15  miles  further  would  carry  one  to 
the  point  where  the  drain  is  toward  the  Pacific  ocean.  The 
altitude  is  5,000  feet  above  that  at  Pueblo,  9,435  feet  above  Kan- 
sas City,  3,187  feet  above  Santa  Fe,  3,572  feet  above  the  tun- 
nel on  Raton  mountain.  It  is  the  highest  point  "we've  struck," 
as  they  say  here.  We  left  Pueblo  in  a  climate  like  Vermont 
September,  and  nine  hours  afterwards  stepped  out  of  the 
car  at  Leadville  into  the  lap  of  January,  and  heard  the  mu- 
sic of  the  sleigh  bells.  We  had  a  touch  of  homesickness,  and 
felt  as  lonesome  as  if  we  were  locked  up  in  the  high  moun- 
tains. 

But  really  the  situation  of  the  city  is  very  fine,  it  being  in 
a  depression  15  miles  or  more  in  diameter,  on  the  top  of  the 
range.  Four  years  ago  this  basin  in  the  mountain  was  dense 
forest.  Three  years  later  it  was  a  city  of  40,000  people,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  every  metropolitan  convenience,  fine  blocks, 
wide  streets,  railroad  communication,  horse  cars,  gas,  water 
works,  telephone,  theatres,  literary  societies,  churches,  grad- 
ed schools,  etc.,  not  to  mention  rum  saloons,  gambling  hells 
and  dance  houses  in  countless  confusion. 

Mines  were  discovered  here  as  early  as  1866  in  the  Califor- 
nia Gulch.  They  were  worked  successfully  a  while,  and  thrown 
up  because  of  too  much  black  sand,  which  had  to  be  separated 
from  the  pay  dirt.  In  the  spring  of  77  it  was  discovered  that 
this  black  sand  was  very  rich  in  silver — in  fact,  the  best  pay- 
ing dirt  in  the  hills.  As  soon  as  this  became  known  abroad 
the  rush  commenced.  The  first  settlement  was  in  June,  1877. 
In  the  fall  the  population  was  3,000.  In  the  spring  of  '78  it 
was  8,000,  a  year  later  15,000,  and  in  the  spring  of  1880  it 
had  reached  its  maximum  of  40,000  people. 

Everybody  has  read  of  Leadville,  the  richest  mining  camp  in 
the  country,  of  the  fabulous  instances  of  suddenly  acquired 


SUDDENLY  ACQUIRED   WEALTH.  177 

wealth,  of  the  morning  paupers  becoming  evening  millionaires. 
Nothing  in  the  history  of  this  country  so  nearly  rivals  Alad- 
din's Lamp  as  Leadville.  An  Ohio  banker  put  $1,800  into  a 
prospect  hole,  and  sold  out  soon  afterwards  tor  $50,000.  Gov- 
ernor Tabor  made  $1,500,000  in  ninety  days.  The  Robert  E. 
Lee  mine  has  made  as  high  as  $125,000  in  a  single  day.  The 
immediate  locality  has  over  100  working  mines,  and  prospect- 
ors, with  pick  and  shovel,  are  still  hunting  on  the  hills  in  sight 
of  town — ten  probably  to  waste  their  time  and  means,  one  to 
stumble  into  a  fortune.  We  hear  of  the  one,  but  nothing  is 
ever  said  about  the  other  nine. 

In  1877  Leadville  mines  paid  $505,300;  in  '78,  $2,818,000, 
in  '79  $12,032,000  ;  in  '80,  about  $18,000,000.  Many  of  the 
large  mines  are  incorporated,  and  stock  is  on  the  market. 
Large  dividends  are  sent  to  New  York  every  quarter,  but  it  is 
estimated  that  one-third  of  all  the  dividends  are  paid  to  Lead- 
ville residents. 

The  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  railroad  reached  here  in  July, 
1880.  Eagle  River  road  runs  west  25  miles,  to  connect  with 
the  road  to  Utah,  and  other  roads  are  projected  to  make  Lead- 
ville a  railroad  center  for  a  large  mining  and  commercial  coun- 
try. The  city  already  has  17  miles  of  side  track.  She  is  the 
county  seat  of  Lake  county,  has  a  $60,000  court  house,  a  fine 
post-office,  a  $45,000  opera  house,  a  $50,000  school  house, 
1,500.  school  children,  and  churches  of  every  denomination,  all 
being  well  attended. 

The  impression  East  is  that  Leadville  is  a  very  wicked  city. 
That  impression  is  correct.  But  there  are  good  people  here, 
and  they  control  the  town.  The  city  has  passed  through  some 
hard  experiences,  met  the  roughs  on  their  own  ground,  and  won 
the  day.  A  year  ago  last  June  there  was  a  strike  of  5,000 
miners,  who  paraded  the  streets,  making  violent  threats.  The 
town  armed,  formed  a  vigilance  committee,  and  signified  a  readi- 
ness to  begin  the  fight.  Business  was  suspended  for  several 
weeks,  but  the  committee  prevailed,  and  the  execution  of  law 
was  rendered  certain  by  a  public  sentiment,  born  from  a  realiza- 
tion of  its  necessity  for  self-preservation.     This  very  emergen - 

12 


178  THE  EDITOR'S  EUX. 

cy,  which  for  some  weeks  threatened  the  existence  of  the  young 
city,  gave  Leadville  a  good  municipal  government.  She  has  a 
mayor  and  councilmen  to  make  laws,  and  twenty -five  policemen 
to  enforce  them.  She  calls  her  streets  safe.  They  are  in  the 
day  time,  but  I  could  not  turn  a  corner  in  the  evening  without 
a  feeliDg  that,  maybe,  "somfin's  goin'  to  d rap."  Dance  houses 
and  gambling  hells  everywhere,  well  filled  revolver  belts,  hard 
looking- faces,  blasphemies  and  curses  loud  and  long,  coming 
forth  from  every  other  door,  do  not  have  a  tendency  to  remind 
a  Sabbath  school  boy  of  paradise. 

We  spent  one  evening  visiting  these  places.  We  wanted  to 
see  the  worst  side  of  Leadville.  There  is  no  danger  in  pass- 
ing through  the  dance  houses  and  the  gambling  rooms.  The 
danger  comes  from  going  in  there  to  regulate  the  proprietors 
and  their  patrons,  to  preach  temperance,  good  morals,  and  oth- 
erwise interfere  with  their  general  programme.  There  is  dan- 
ger too,  in  passing  through  unfrequented  streets  and  alleys,  or 
being  conspicuous  and  ready  for  a  fight  in  the  crowded  places. 
One  does  #not  have  to  hunt  for  a  row  in  Leadville.  He  can  sig- 
nify a  readiness  for  that  kind  of  pastime  and  get  knocked  down 
or  converted  into  a  skimmer,  with  hole  of  45  calibre,  any  where 
in  town.  We  spent  an  hour  in  one  of  the  theatres.  It  was  a 
large  building,  with  good  stage  and  scenery,  down  stairs  being 
supplied  with  chairs  and  tables^  and  up  stairs  with  balcony  in 
one  end  and  a  row  of  boxes  on  both  sides.  The  actors  were  do- 
ing their  best  at  singing,  dancing,  and  bawdy  dialogue,  the 
girls  in  the  pit  were  industriously  supplying  liquor  and  cigars' 
at  the  call  of  spectators  about  the  tables,  while  people  in  the 
boxes  above  were  drinking,  playing  with  the  girls,  and  occa- 
sionally watching  the  play.  All  were  smoking,  drinking, 
swearing,  and  having  a  good  time  generally.  We  occupied 
one  of  the  boxes  to  get  a  good  view  of  the  whole  scene.  It 
was  a  satisfactory  picture  of  pandemonium.  If  I  ever  saw 
the  Governor  disgusted  with  intemperance,  it  was  after  the  fifth 
girl  with  painted  face  and  poorly  fitting  silk  had  approached 
him,  and,  with  a  loving  tap  under  the  chin,  asked  to  be  escort- 
ed to  the  bar  and  treated  with  whisky.      The  invitation  from 


THE  GOVERNOR  DISGUSTED.  179 

the  first  girl  depicted  upon  the  Governor's  countenance  an  ex- 
pression of  bewilderment,  which  was  changed  to  common  sur- 
prise ten  minutes  later,  when  the  second  girl  gave  her  invita- 
tion. The  call  from  the  third  piece  of  flounced  paint  produc- 
ed a  look  of  disgust,  which  was  changed  to  alarm  later  on  by 
the  loving  tap  of  the  fourth  female.  But  when  the  fifth  one, 
in  blue  silk,  banged  hair,  pimpled  nose,  and  sore  eyes,  propos- 
ed a  treat,  and  supplemented  the  proposition  with  a  two  horse 
power  hug,  the  Governor  took  his  hat,  and,  with  a  counte- 
nance full  of  alarm,  whispered,  "We've  got  to  drink,  fight  or 
get  out  of  here  right  away."     We  got  out. 

I  was  told  there  was  one  theatre  in  town  where  the  audi- 
ence were  properly  seated,  and  where  they  behaved  as  they  do 
in  the  East.  But,  seeing  many  of  the  well  dressed  men  of 
Leadville  in  the  theatre  above  described,  I  was  lead  to  doubt 
the  statement.  The  time  may  come  when  Leadville  will  in- 
sist upon  rational  and  decent  public  entertainment,  or  upon 
the  absence  of  the  opposite  kind,  but  it  has  not  come  yet. 
If  she  has  an  occasional  one  of  the  better  kind,  she  makes  no 
formal,  no  "official"  objection  to  the  kind  which  is  common 
and  corrupting. 

Prices  in  Leadville  are  not  what  they  were  before  the  advent 
of  the  railroad,  but  they  are  sufficient  to  stagger  an  Eastern 
man,  even  now.  What  would  you  think,  reader,  to  have  to 
pay  $46  a  ton  for  hay,  and  not  a  prime  article  at  that.  How 
would  you  like  to  eat  Irish  potatoes  at  $2.50  a  bushel,  or  give 
$1 .80  a  bushel  for  corn  for  your  horse  ?  If  you  want  a  livery 
team  a  day,  how  would  $10  strike  you  ?  Or,  if  you  are  wick- 
ed and  want  to  engage  a  team  for  Sund  ay,  how  would  $20 
suit  you  ?  Take  it  or  leave  it,  there  are  plenty  of  calls  for  it 
on  those  terms.  Going  to  Sunday  school  is  less  expensive, 
but  not  quite  so  popular  in  Leadville.  Hand-made  thin  boots 
cost  $18.  The  same  article  any  good  shoemaker  in  Vermont 
will  furnish  for  $10,  and  pay  $2  or  $3  postage  on  them  to  Lead- 
ville. Doctors  charge  $3  a  visit  about  town,  and  $2  a  mile 
travel  where  they  go  outside.     In  confinement  cases  the  bill 


180  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

is  $25,  and  in  surgical  operations  it  is  proportioned  somewhat 
to  the  paying  qualities  of  the  patient's  mine.  There  are  law- 
yers here,  but  they  never  charge  anything  for  services.  They 
simply  take  a  quit  claim  to  what  a  man  has,  more  or  less. 
The}'  are  not  particular.  A  client  is  never  heard  of  financial- 
ly after  consulting  one  of  them.  We  heard  of  one  case 
where  a  woman  owned  a  $150,000  mine  and  had  occasion  to 

consult  Judge about  the  title.     The  next  news  about 

that  mine  was  that  Judge owned  it,  and  the  woman 

was  trying  to  hire  another  lawyer  to  assist  her  in  getting 
something  out  of  the  Judge  to  pay  for  house  rent  and  other 
necessaries  of  life.  Foremen  in  mines  get  $100  to  $150  a  month, 
and  superintendents  $250  to  $1,200  a  month.  Generally  speak- 
ing, the  richer  the  mine  the  higher  the  salaries  of  the  officers. 
Mines,  the  same  as  politics,  are  apt  to  have  rings,  and  to  be 
in  the  ring  one  needs  to  be  near  the  mine.  Foreign  stock- 
holders are  too  far  away.  They  may  draw  a  ten  percent,  div- 
idend, and  might  draw  a  fifty  per  cent,  were  it  not  for  a  ring 
which  increases  expense  of  officers,  etc.,  in  proportion  to  pro- 
duction of  the  mines.  A  $15,000  salary  is  not  so  much  evidence 
mining  skill  as  of  mine  capacity. 

Female  help,  we  judge,  is  not  plenty,  as  a  nurse  in  confine- 
ment cases  gets  $25  a  week,  and  a  common  domestic  gets  the 
same  for  a  month's  service,  and  insists  upon  afternoons  for 
street  promenade,  in  the  fixings  which  all  her  earnings  will 
buy.  There  is  no  use  being  a  domestic  if  one  can  not  put  up- 
on the  back  all  of  her  wages,  with  part  of  her  expectancy,  and 
sail  out  for  exhibition. 

The  population  of  Leadville  is  not  increasing.  It  is  dimin- 
ishing a  little.  Rents  have  gone  down,  and  in  certain  locali- 
ties business  has  departed,  and  stores  are  begging  for  tenants. 
But  the  population  is  taking  permanent  form,  improvements 
made  are  of  the  permanent  kind,  society  is  by  degrees  grow- 
ing better,  law  and  order  are  gaining  in  popular  favor,  mining 
and  commercial  business  is  settling  into  regular  forms,  and 
in  a  few  years  Leadville  will  be  like  other  American  cities. 


LEAD  VILLE  PERMANENT,  181 

And  she  will  be  a  permanent  city  of  steadily  increasing  pop- 
ulation and  commercial  importance.  Every  evidence  points 
to  the  fact  that  mining  in  the  Rocky  mountain  range  has  but 
just  commenced,  and  that  during  the  next  century  the  talent 
of  invention  will  be  largely  exercised  in  its  different  depart- 
ments, and  that  the  industries  will  grow  into  great  porportions 
and  become  a  most  important  source  of  national  income.  If 
this  opinion  is  correct,  Leadville,  Denver,  Gunnison,  Dead- 
wood,  Socorro,  Silver  City,  and  other  localities  in  the  range, 
will  become  not  only  mining  centers,  but  cities  of  national 
importance.  People  who  have  money  to  invest,  or  ambitions 
to  grow  up  with  a  country,  should  not  forget  this  rocky  range, 
which  is  just  beginning  to  receive  the  tide  of  emigration. 


THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


Run  No  25. 


DEPARTURE  FROM  LEADVILLE— A  WICKED  THOUGHT— CANON  CITY 
—PUEBLO— THE  BOOM— A  BIG  SPECULATION— PUEBLO'S  INSTITU- 
TIONS AND  PROSPECTS— COLORADO  SPRINGS— HOW  HER  TEMPER- 
ANCE PRINCIPLES  AFFECT  THE  GOVERNOR— DENVER— HER  PROS- 
PECTS—THE  DEVIL  SECOND  IN  AUTHORITY— FINE  BUILDINGS- 
MINING— CHURCHES— GERMAN  DANCE  HOUSE— THE  AMERICAN 
MIXTURE  DEGRADES— THE  SALOON  ELEMENT  ESSENTIAL  TO  BUSI- 
NESS PROSPERITY— PRICES. 


Denver,  Col.,  December  12,  1881. 

At  5  o'clock  Saturday  morning  we  got  up,  walked  through 
the  snowy  streets  of  Leadville  to  the  depot,  and  left  the  car- 
bonate region — "the  richest  mining  country  in  the  world" — 
without  the  least  regret  whatever.  I  should  like  to  be  rich, 
-but  would  rather  be  comfortably  poor  in  Vermont  than  be 
miserably  rich  in  Leadville.  I  was  terribly  blue  while 
there,  and  moved  about  in  a  cloud  of  indigo  continually.  The 
exact  cause  of  it  I  am  not  certain  about,  but  various  things 
contributed  to  it.  I  had  got  into  winter  quarters  all  at  once, 
and  the  contrast  between  the  beautiful  weather  on  the  plain, 
and  the  snow,  freeze  and  the  over-hanging  cloud  of  coal  smoke, 
was  not  cheering.  I  had  a  feeling,  too,  of  being  locked  up, 
for  away  in  the  Rocky  mountains,  almost  above  timber  line. 
I  was  not  conscious  of  having  committed 'any  crime,  except, 
perhaps,  that  of  playing  truant,  and  staying  away  from  home 
after  the  permit  had  expired,  but  I  felt  as  if  I  was  in  prison, 
and  was  anxious  to  escape. 


A  WICKED  THOUGHT.  183 

Another  thing,  I  fear,  contributed  to  the  discomfort.  I  saw 
suddenly  acquired  wealth  on  every  side  of  me,  rich  mines, 
mountains  of  ore,  great  piles  of  smelted  mineral,  worth  dol- 
lars and  dollars,  with  other  wealth  in  various  forms,  and 

and  none  of  it  was  mine.  This  was  a  wicked  thought,  to  be 
sure,  but  sometimes  envy  will  take  possession  of  the  best  of 
people.  While  passing  piles  of  gold  and  silver  bricks,  I 
thought,  maybe  those  are  the  property  of  some  cuss  who 
never  saw  the  inside  of  a  school  house,  who  has  not  a  particle 
of  scripture  in  his  composition,  who  has  grown  up  in  idleness, 
stumbled  into  good  luck  and  is  happy ;  while  I,  a  participant 
in  a  hundred  school  house  rows,  a  recipient  of  countless  school 
house  floggings,  an  old  time  church  goer,  twenty  years  in  a 
galling  editorial  harness,  toiling  for  bread  and  wasting  vitali- 
ty in  efforts  to  suppress  cuss  words  due  delinquent  subscribers, 
have  not  a  gold  brick  to  my  name.  I  was  not  blaming  Prov- 
idence, but  I  could  not  avoid  the  feeling  that  Providence  had 
sided  with  the  fellow  who  owned  the  bricks. 

Traveling  115  miles  fromLeadville,  we  reached  Canon  City 
at  noon,  and  were  out  of  the  immense  mountains.  The  town 
is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  wonderful  canon  of  the  Arkan- 
sas, and  is  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  Colorado.  It  is  beauti- 
fully laid  out  in  streets,  at  right  angles,  has  the  state  prison, 
a  fine  school,  several  good  churches,  excellent  blocks  of  brick 
and  stone,  and  contains  about  4,000  people.  The  time  was 
when  Canon  City  expected  to  be  the  distributing  point  for  the 
state,  and  town  lots  sold  at  figures  suggested  by  that  expec- 
tation. But  that  time  has  passed.  No  one  can  predict  busi- 
ness centers  long  in  the  future,  and  no  one  can  satisfactorily 
account  for  the  change  and  the  growth  of  centers  after  they 
are  established.  They  change  imperceptibly,  sometimes  from 
one  town  to  another,  and  sometimes  from  one  locality  to  anoth- 
er in  the  same  city.  All  town  lot  speculators  can  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  frisky  nature  of  business  centers,  but  few  of  them 
are  able  to  foresee  the  change,  or  to  account  for  it  after  it 
is  made. 


184  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

Leaving  Canon  City,  we  sweep  over  the  plains,  skirt  the 
river  side,  and  wind  around  the  little  mesas  till  half-past  two, 
and  arrive  at  Pueblo,  just  158  miles  southeast  from  Leadville, 
and  are  once  more  in  delightful  fall  weather,  with  a  bright 
sun,  warm  atmosphere  and  dry  streets.  No  town  west  of  the 
Missouri  river  has  had  such  a  boom  during  the  past  year  as 
Pueblo.  Its  situation  is  on  the  Arkansas  river,  forty  miles 
east  of  the  mountains,  surrounded  by  a  rolling  prairie,  rich 
in  its  grazing  and  agricultural  capacity.  A  little  village  of 
mud  houses  has  stood  there  for  many  years,  but  the  new 
Pueblo  commenced  with  the  advent  of  the  railroads,  only  a 
few  years  ago.  The  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  made 
it  the  western  terminus  of  their  line.  The  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  also  comes  down  from  Denver,  turns  around  for  Lead- 
ville, and  also  keeps  straight  ahead  for  El  Moro,  four  miles 
from  Trinidad. 

Speaking  of  the  boom,  I  will  give  one  instance  in  the  rise 
of  town  lots.  A  year  ago  now  a  man  purchased  a  lot,  25x140 
feet,  for  $50,,  and,  without  spending  a  dollar  on  it,  he  has  just 
leased  the  bare  lot  for  five  years  at  $125  a  month,  or  $1,500 
a  year.  Perhaps  Vermont  interest  men  can  derive  satisfac- 
tion in  cyphering  out  the  rate  of  interest  which  that  $50  is 
drawing.  But  they  should  not  emigrate  West  wholly  on  the 
strength  of  this  instance,  because  they  might  not  be  able  to 
loan  on  such  terms.  This  was  the  best  investment  we  heard 
of  in  Pueblo,  though  everybody  who  invested  in  lots  a  year 
ago  quadrupled  their  money,  while  many  did  much  better 
than  that.  It  is  claimed,  also,  that  investments  at  the  pres- 
ent prices  will  double  the  money  inside  of  one  year.  This, 
however,  is  opinion,  though  not  wholly  confined  to  the  resi- 
dents of  Pueblo.  Outsiders  very  generally  concede  that 
Pueblo  is  destined  to  be  a  large  town.  She  has  a  population 
of  10,000  souls,  has  started  fine  schools  and  churches,  has 
street  cars,  gas,  water  works,  telephone,  is  made  a  center  by 
railroads,  has  a  good  grazing  country,  is  in  the  vicinity  of 
rich  mining  regions,  and  is   well  located  to  receive  tribute 


PUEBLO'S  PROSPECTS.  185 

therefrom.  Steel  works  of  immense  magnitude  are  now  go- 
ing up,  rolling  mills  are  coming,  smelters  are  running,  and 
everythingjs  favorable  for  rapid  and  healthy  growth.  She  is 
the  headquarters  of  the  Colorado  coal  and  iron  company, 
which  is  operating  in  different  localities,  and  taking  out  at 
least  2,000  tons  of  coal  daily,  which,  in  Pueblo  and  Denver, 
brings  $10  to  $12  a  ton.  Thus  this  one  company  receives  a 
gross  income  of  over  $20,000  daily.  It  is  one  of  the  immense 
institutions  of  the  State,  and,  as  the  demand  increases  for  coal 
and  coke,  the  company  will  increase  its  capacity  for  supply- 
ing. The  business  men  of  Pueblo  are  enterprising,  energet- 
ic, public  spirited,  awake  to  the  opportunities  of  the  city,  and 
determined  to  push  it  ahead.  Society  is  off  the  same  piece 
with  the  society  of  other  Colorado  cities.  The  police  depart- 
ment is  vigilant  and  efficient,  but,  unless  there  is  a  row  or  gen- 
eral outbreak,  they  never  molest  the  saloons  or  gambling 
holes.  As  a  department  of  business,  these  are  quite  as  con- 
spicuous as  any  other  branch  of  industry  in  the  city. 

We  left  Pueblo  Sunday  morning,  taking  the  narrow  guage 
road  for  Denver.  A  ride  of  45  miles  brought  us  to  Colorado 
Springs,  which  is  to  be  made  the  summer  resort  on  the  Den- 
ver and  Rio  Grande  road.  This  town  is  settled  largely  by 
New  England  people,  contains  about  3,000  population,  and  is 
handsomely  built.  The  Springs  and  Greeley  are  the  only 
towns  in  Colorado  where  the  sale  of  liquor  is  prohibited. 
Whoever  started  Colorado  Springs,  put  it  into' the  by-laws 
that  the  selling  of  rum  should  amount  to  a  forfeiture  of  the 
real  estate.  It  was  a  good  moral  idea  and  ought  to  be  en- 
couraged, but  the  average  traveler  does  not  take  kindly  to  it. 
For  instance,  I  wanted  to  stop  there  a  day  or  two  and  look 
the  town  over,  but  the  Governor  said  we  would  take  it  for 
granted  the  town  was  all  right  and  slide  right  by  up  to  Den- 
ver, where  they  were  not  so  particular  and  fussy  in  their  no- 
tions. It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Governor  votes 
the  Democratic  ticket,  while  the  man  who  penned  that  "fussy" 
clause  in  the  Colorado  Springs  by-laws  is  probably  a  republi- 


186  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

can,  bound,  with  the  rest  of  his  party,  for  the  happy  land  of 
Canaan. 

A  ride  of  85  miles  north  from  Colorado  Springs  landed  us 
in  Denver — wicked  Denver — a  city  of  40,000  people,  and  too 
far  in  the  lead  to  be  overtaken  by  any  other  Colorado  city. 
Pueblo,  flushed  with  the  excitement  of  an  unheard  of  rapid 
growth,  and  pregnant  with  big  expectations,  is  beginning  to 
make  up  faces  at  her  older  sister  and  to  claim  rivalry.  But 
Denver  is  rich,  solid,  confident,  and  sure  of  keeping  the  lead. 
She  will  always  be  the  head  center,  the  distributing  point  for 
Colorado.  Vermonters  are  familiar  with  the  growth  and  the 
character  of  Denver.  She  is  situated  on  the  rolling  prairie, 
40  miles  from  the  mountains,  has  many  beautiful  streets,  and 
on  Capitol  Hill  some  of  the  finest  residences  in  the  west.  On 
every  side  are  evidences  of  prosperity,  solid  wealth,  educa- 
tion, refinement,  and  good  morals.  On  every  side  are  evi- 
dences of  fast  life,  dissipation,  and  deviltry.  Denver  is 
mixed,  but  the  good  things  of  this  world  predominate.  For- 
merly it  was  not  thus.  The  devil  ruled  the  city  for  many  of 
its  first  years,  and  though  he  does  not  occupy  the  Mayor's 
chair  at  the  present  time,  and  is  not  operating  "officially,"  he 
is  still  doing  quite  an  extensive  business  in  a  private  way. 
He  is  running  whole  streets  of  houses  of  ill-fame.  He  has 
charge  of  several  hundred  liquor  saloons,  all  doing  a  prosper- 
ous business.  He  superintends  gambling  dens  by  the  dozens, 
with  doors  open  to  young  and  old  men.  But  he  operates  un- 
der cover  of  law,  or  at  least  under  city  sufferance,  and  is  not 
disturbed  unless  he  breaks  the  peace,  or  abuses  some  individ- 
ual to  the  extent  of  provoking  a  complaint  under  the  statute. 
He  is  still  a  very  important  personage  in  Denver,  though  he 
is  understood  to  occupy  a  secondary  position,  and  is  subject 
to  the  powers  that  be,  when  they  choose  to  wake  up  to  duty. 

I  find  here  some  magnificent  blocks  of  buildings.  The 
Union  depot,  just  completed,  cost  a  half  million.  Gov.  Ta- 
bor is  building  an  Opera  House  to  cost  nearly  as  much.  He 
also  has  several  very  expensive  business  blocks,  two  of  them 


DENVER'S  FUTURE.  187 

costing  a  quarter  of  a  million  each.  The  Windsor  hotel  cost 
about  $200,000,  and  is  furnished  at  an  expense  of  $50,000 
more.  There  are  scores  of  blocks  ranging  from  $25,000  to 
$100,000  each.  In  fact,  Denver  is  built  in  compact  and  ele- 
gant form,  displaying  long  lines  of  architecture  which  would 
be  a  credit  to  any  city  in  the  world.  It  does  not  have  that 
ragged,  broken,  hastily  built  appearance  1  expected  to  find, 
but  is  thorough,  compact  and  beautiful. 

Although  the  mountains  are  40  miles  away,  they  are  right 
in  one's  face,  apparently.  The  region  is  rich  in  mining  ca- 
pacity, which  will  never  grow  less,  as  the  mines  are  exhaust- 
less  and  have  always  been  a  great  source  of  wealth  to  the 
city.  As  neighboring  towns  increase  and  new  towns  start  up 
in  the  mountains,  increasing  the  demand  for  goods  and  met- 
ropolitan conveniences,  Denver  will  add  a  few  more  streets 
to  supply  the  demand.  As  the  science  of  mining  improves, 
the  tribute  from  that  source  will  increase  for  ages  to  come. 
Denver  has  a  sure  and  a  permanent  source  of  prosperity  in 
the  mines. 

HilPs  smelting  works,  the  largest  in  the  world,  are  located 
here,  giving  employment  to  a  large  force.  We  got  a  permit 
to  go  all  through  the  immense  establishment,  but  I  was  not 
smart  enough  to  steal  a  gold  brick,  or  bring  away  a  single 
specimen  from  the  great  piles  of  metal  which  appeared  at 
every  turn.  The  guide  kept  close  by,  with  an  eye  on  us  ev- 
ery moment.  I  don't  know  as  he  suspected  us,  but  he  said 
he  was  instructed  to  watch — not  the  Governor  and  me  partic- 
ularly, but  all  visitors.  However,  it  made  me  feel  awkward, 
as  if  he  did  not  have  the  confidence  in  my  Sabbath  school 
training  which  it  was  entitled  to. 

We  spent  Sunday  evening  studying  the  religious  proclivi- 
ties of  the  Denverite,  our  first  call  being  at  a  nice  little 
church  filled  with  the  well  dressed  colored  society,  to  which  a 
coal  black  preacher  was  telling  the  story  of  Joseph,  and  ham- 
mering the  pulpit  with  the  energy  of  a  first-class  auctioneer/ 
After  he  had  told  the  story  over  six  or  eight  times  we  left, 


188  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

walked  a  couple  of  blocks,  and  entered  the  Episcopal  Church, 
just  completed,  and  one  of  the  grandest  church  edifices  in  the 
west.  We  saw  a  large  audience,  heard  the  last  half  of  a  go'od 
sermon,  listened  to  a  good  chorus  choir,  and  heard  the  best 
organ  in  Colorado.  From  here  we  went  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
to  Turner's  Hall,  to  observe  what  manner  of  devotion  Sunday 
evening  brings  to  the  cream  of  German  society.  It  was  jolly. 
As  we  entered  the  auditorium  the  girls  were  choosing  part- 
ners, and  what  they  lacked  in  devotion  they  made  up  in  hilar- 
ity and  giggle.  Girls  always  giggle  when  they  choose  part- 
ners for  a  dance.  We  seated  ourselves  at  one  of  the  round 
tables  strung  along  a  platform  at  one  side  of  a  room,  and  the 
Governor  called  for  two  glasses  of  lager  to  assist  in  a  proper 
observance  of  the  ceremony.  This  he  said  was  indispensible 
to  good  and  regular  standing  in  the  company.  Besides,  he 
wanted  the  beer.  Well,  reader,  if  you  have  ever  seen  Ger- 
mans dancing  and  drinking  lager,  you  know  the  charac- 
ter of  the  devotions  we  witnessed  Sunday  night.  All  was 
life,  hilarity  and  good  feeling,  but,  religiously  speaking,  it 
failed  to  square  with  my  puritanic  instruction.  It  was  well 
enough  for  Denver,  and,  as  public  sentiment  runs  here,  it  was 
no  compromise  of  the  best  German  character.  At  the  same 
hour  a  baser  affair  of  the  same  character  was  running  on  the 
south  side,  in  which  American  men  and  German  women 
formed  the  company.  The  American  mixture  with  German, 
Mexican,  or  entertainment  of  any  other  nationality,  we  no- 
tice, usually  tends  to  degrade  it.  The  gambling  houses  and 
saloons  were  also  running  at  the  same  hour.  But,  in  justice 
to  Denver,  it  should  t>e  said  that  she  has  nearly  as  many 
churches,  in  proportion  to  her  population,  as  an  eastern  city, 
and  they  are  well  filled  every  Sunday.  The  surprise  consists 
in  seeing  so  many  well  tilled  churches  beside  so  many  saloons, 
gambling  and  dance  houses,  all  well  filled,  and  running  at  the 
same  hour.  It  would  seem  as  if  one  or  the  other  would  go 
down,  but,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  tfcey  seldom  interfere  with 
one  another.     The  saloons,  I   am   told,  get  more  patronage 


WHY  THE  LA  WS  ARE  NOT  ENFORCED.  189 

from  the  churches  than  the  churches  get  from  the  saloons.  It 
would  be  proper  to  investigate  this  statement,  and,  if  true, 
have  a  balance  of  trade  established.  It  tips  the  wrong  way 
now. 

You  may  ask,  reader,  why  the  better  sentiment,  of  which 
some  exists  in  all  these  Rocky  mountain  cities,  does  not  rise 
up  and  insist  upon  the  enforcement  of  a  law  to  suppress  sa- 
loons, debauching,  gambling,  dance  houses,  etc.  Our  answer 
is,  they  are  profitable,  and  among  the  best  business  contribu- 
tors of  the  different  cities.  Denver  grew  suddenly  rich  out 
of  the  gambling  element.  The  miners  and  the  cow  boys  get 
to  the  cities,  and  in  a  few  evenings  leave  a  month's  earnings. 
Of  course,  these  places  are  recognized  as  immoral.  Colorado 
has  laws  against  them,  but  they  are  never  enforced,  except 
in  the  way  of  an  occasional  light  fine,  unless  they  cause  an  in- 
tolerable breach  of  the  peace.  The  city  which  should  thor- 
oughly squelch  these  places  would  lose  an  important  branch 
of  business,  and  contribute  so  far  towards  building  up  a  rival, 
less  "particular  and  fussy,"  to  use  the  language  of  the  Gov- 
ernor. The  western  man's  first  idea  is  to  make  money.  Af- 
ter that,  he  is  willing  to  do  something  towards  the  morals. 
But  morals  must  not  venture  to  trig  the  wheels  of  the  leading 
idea. 

I  met  here  F.  E.  Libby,  formerly  of  St.  Johnsbury,  who  is 
now  engaged  as  brakeman  on  theD.  &R.  G.  road.  He  likes 
the  opportunities  of  earning  money,  but  with  the  same  op- 
portunities in  the  east  he  would  much  prefer  to  live  there. 
When  he  gets  rich,  he  is  going  back  to  Boston.  He  informs 
me  that  engineers  get  $5  for  every  85  miles  run,  brakemen 
$60  to  $75  per  month,  firemen  $2.40  for  85  miles  run,  section 
men  $1.75  a  day,  bridge  builders  $2.50  to  $3,  brick  layers  $5, 
stone  masons  $4.  Board  can  be  obtained  at  $6  a  week,  but 
hotels  charge  $2  to  $4  a  day.  Rents  pay  33  per  cent,  quick. 
A  little  house  with  three  rooms,  costing,  with  the  lot,  $900, 
rents  for  25  dollars  a  month.  A  single  furnished  room  $10  to 
$15  a  month.  Money  loans  readily  on  good  security  at  18  per 
cent. 


190  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN, 


Run  No.  26. 


REASONS  FOR  VISITING  EL  PASO— WAITING  AT  LA  JUNTA— EL  PA- 
SO BOOM— RAILROAD  CENTER— THE  OLD  CHURCH— SITUATION- 
SAND  STORMS— HOTEL— EL  PASO  IN  OLD  MEXICO— HABITS  OF  THE 
PEOPLE— RICHNESS  OF  THE  SOIL— THE  GAUDALOUPE  FEAST— GAM- 
BLING—THE  GOVERNOR'S  ADAPTABILITY  AND  HIS  REAL  OPINION 
OF  THE  CROWD— THE  YANKEE  MIXTURE— THE  BULL  FIGHT- 
OTHER  SPORTS— SIDE  SHOWS— THE  TORTILLA— THE  GOVERNORS 
TURNOVER— THE  OLD  TOWN  AT  A  STAND  STILL— THE  FIRE 
WOOD. 


El  Paso,  Old  Mexico,  December  16,  1881. 
El  Paso  is  823  miles  south  of  Denver,  the  place  of  my  last 
letter,  written  December  12.  It  will  be  in  order,  reader,  for 
you  to  enquire  what  brought  me  here.  I  had  two  induce- 
ments— first,  to  see  the  country,  second  to  see  the  Mexicans  at 
their  annual  Gaudaloupe  feast,  which  begins  December  8,  and 
continues  three  weeks.  Quite  a  journey,  you  will  say,  for  so 
small  consideration.  But  you  must  remember  that  the  consid- 
eration is  not  wholly  confined  to  the  scenes  and  sights  in  El 
Paso.  A  ride  in  the  cars  from  Denver,  through  southern  Col- 
orado and  all  of  New  Mexico,  past  the  cities  now  growing  up 
aloug  the  foot  hills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  furnishes  an  op- 
portunity to  study  the  character  and  ways  of  the  people  who 
inhabit  this  far  away  western  country.  They  come  from  all 
climes  and  from  all  nations,  in  pursuit  of  venture  and  the  "Al- 
mighty dollar,"  and  to  have  a  good  time,  each  according  to  his 
own  taste.     Puritanic  notions — if  they  had  any  at  home — were 


"KEEP  OFF  MY  TOES."  191 

left  there,  and  the  society  formed  by  the  general  mixture  is  of 
the  rough,  wild,  don't-care-a-darn  sort.  There  are  no  Good 
Templars  to  crowd  their  notions  of  diet  and  drink  upon  neigh- 
bors, no  Deacons  to  insist  upon  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
nobody  to  say  how  another  person  shall  eat,  drink,  pray,  or  be- 
have. The  public  sentiment  which  prevails  is,  "Do  as  you 
please,  but  keep  off  my  toes."  A  ride  from  La  Junta  in  Col- 
orado to  any  point  in  southern  New  Mexico,  is  in  different  com- 
pany from  that  one  meets  in  a  ride  from  La  Junta  to  Kansas 
City  on  the  east.  In  the  latter  case,  one  is  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  law,  which  finds  sure  and  prompt  execution,  while 
in  the  former,  if  the  law  exists,  the  execution  is  so  tardy  and 
uncertain  that  one  feels  his  personal  safety  depending  upon  his 
behaviour,  his  science  of  self  defence,  and  his  good  luck.  Eie 
is  in  a  company  which  contains  one  or  more  desperadoes,  who 
with  escape  reasonably  sure  would  not  hesitate  to  take  life  for 
money,  or  to  start  a  row  just  for  entertainment.  Such  a  com- 
pany, of  course,  furnishes  an  interesting  study  to  strangers. 
Every  car  is  a  new  volume,  with  life  size  illustrations. 

Leaving  Denver  Tuesday  morning, -we  travel  south  by  the 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande  narrow  gauge,  120  miles  to  Pueblo, 
where  we  take  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  train  east 
to  La  Junta,  58  miles,  arriving  at  5  o'clock  p.  m.  Here  in  a  de- 
pot room  18x20  feet,  we  wait,  with  35  other  people  speaking 
three  different  languages,  for  the  midnight  train  from  the  east. 

Swearing  is  one  of  the  most  ill-bred,  ungentlemanly,  coarse - 
haired,  empty  headed  traits  in  human  composition,  but  if  one 
ever  thinks  swear,  it  is  when  waiting  for  the  cars  in  the  night 
time,  in  a  depot  so  crowded  that  the  people  have  to  take  turns 
standing  on  one  another's  toes.  And  he  is  too  apt  to  think  out 
loud,  when  this  waiting  occurs  in  a  country  where  so  many  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  fish,  bacon,  onions,  rum  and  tobacco  are  used  for 
breath  tinctures.  I  don't  swear,  but  had  there  been  an  ounce 
of  good  sense  in  it,  or  a  particle  of  relief,  the  temptation  in 
that  La  Junta  depot  might  have  induced  me  to  squeeze  into  a 
corner,  get  my  face  against  the  wall,  and  say  over  a  small  size 
"Damn!"     Of  course  I  should  have  been  particularly  sly  and 


192  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

private  about  it,  so  as  Dot  to  offend  the  ears  of  well  bred  peo- 
ple. But  I  think  with  relief  in  prospect  I  should  have  said  so, 
or  words  to  that  effect. 

Leaving  La  Junta  at  midnight,  we  ride  south  33  hours,  605 
miles,  and  get  off  in  El  Paso,  Texas,  the  dustiest  town  in  cre- 
ation. Last  March  this  town  contained  scarcely  1,200  people, 
and  the  greater  proportion  of  them  lived  in  mud  houses.  To- 
day the  city  numbers  3,000,  or  over,  and  has  many  fine  wood 
buildings,  and  some  handsome  blocks  of  brick  and  stone. 
What  caused  the  increase  ?  Why,  railroads,  and  the  confidence 
that  this  is  to  be  the  railroad  center  west  of  the  Missouri  river. 
The  Southern  Pacific,  a  line  from  San  Francisco  to  Galveston, 
Texas,  intersects  here  with  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa 
Fe,  and  the  Mexican  Central  going  sotfth  to  the  coast.  Among 
the  other  roads  expected  to  verge  here  are  the  Dakota  and 
Rio  Grande,  the  Hamburg  and  San  Antonio  to  New  Orleans,  and 
one  or  two  others.  The  expectation  is  not  groundless,  for  we 
find  every  one  predicting  the  coming  of  the  roads  and  the  large 
growth  of  El  Paso.  Evidently  it  is  to  be  the  northern  con- 
vergence of  the  great  system  of  railroads  projecting  and  de- 
veloping in  Old  Mexico.  It  is  the  point  where  the  two  great 
nations  meet  and  shake  hands.  Already  the  busy  town  has 
one  daily  paper,  one  semi-weekly  and  two  weekly  papers,  a 
good  police,  who  have  more  than  their  hands  full  of  business, 
five  organized  churches  preparing  to  build,  street  cars,  gas  and 
water  companies  organized,  and  one  or  two  business  houses  do- 
ing a  business  of  a  million  each.  It  has  a  good  grazing  coun- 
try all  around  it,  paying  mines  in  the  near  vicinity,  and  is  a 
convenient  locality  to  supply  a  circuit  of  two  hundred  miles 
or  more  of  territory:  For  25  years  it  has  been  a  distributing 
point  for  the  Mexican  States  of  Sonora  and  Chihuahua,  and  a 
good  deal  of  northern  Texas  and  New  Mexico.  With  the 
promised  settlement  of  this  territory,  this  source  alone  is  sure 
to  give  El  Paso  a  good  growth,  but  the  greater  impetus  of 
growth  is  relied  upon  in  the  consequence  of  the  several  long 
lines  of  railroads,  some  of  which  are  now  in  operation,  some 
in  process   of  construction,   and   the   others   simply   mapped. 


EL  PASO  BOOM.  193 

Town  lots  have  doubled  and  quadrupled  during  the  past  nine 
months,  and  they  are  expected  to  double  again  before  next  tall. 
The  Campbell  estate,  of  St.  Louis,  two  or  three  years  ago,  fore- 
closed on  a  piece  of  land  adjoining  the  village,  to  secure  a 
claim  of  $6,000.  Since  obtaining  the  land,  the  estate  owners 
have  tried  every  way  to  induce  the  man  to  pay  the  claim  and 
take  the  land  back.  But  when  the  town  began  to  boom  they 
were  satisfied  to  hold  the  property.  It  is  now  worth  a  quarter 
oi  a  million,  and  lots  in  Campbell's  addition  are  selling  rapidly 
at  $100  to  $500  tor  25  front  feet. 

El  Paso  is  situated  on  the  Rio  Grande  river,  in  a  flat  prairie 
country,  with  dust — a  fine  earth  flour — ankle  deep.  The  wind, 
of  which  there  is  no  lack,  keeps  this  dust  in  motion,  to  the 
great  annoyance  of  all  tidy  housekeepers.  No  door  or  window 
is  tight  enough  to  exclude  it,  and,  do  the  best  they  can,  dirt 
forms  a  part  of  everybody's  drink,  food  and  raiment.  It  is  ter- 
rible to  endure,  but  cannot  be  helped. 

Sand  storms — that  is  what  they  call  them  here — are  fre- 
quent, and,  after  they  pass  by,  the  shovel  is  quite  as  much  in 
demand  as  the  brush.  The  altitude  is  lower  \han  it  is  a  hun- 
dred or  more  miles  north,  and  the  climate  is  too  warm  to  suit 
the  native  New  Englander.  I  have  concluded  not  to  settle  in 
El  Paso,  though  as  a  winter  residence,  dust  and  "greasers"  ex- 
cepted, it  would  be  delightful. 

The  crack  hotel  here  charges  $3  a  day  for  three  shillings 
fare.  Unless  something  is  said  to  the  contrary,  in  a  New  Mex- 
ico correspondence,  it  should  always,  be  understood  that  hotels 
charge  three  prices  for  what  they  furnish.  Generally  speak- 
ing, the  less  furnished  the  more  agreeable  it  is.  Whatever 
may  be  the  material  in  the  raw  state,  when  it  comes  to  the  ta- 
ble the  palatable  part  of  it  is  extracted,  and  the  guests  are  al- 
ways wondering,  "What  the  deuce  is  this  ?" 

On  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Rio  Grande,  in  the  country  of 
revolting  states,  stands  the  quaint  old  Mexican  town  of  El  Pa- 
so Del  Norte,  with  its  mud  houses  extending  along  the  river 
for  a  distance  of  five  or  six  miles.  The  village  contains  about 
7,000  stove  colored  "greasers,"  some  quite  wealthy,  and  has 
13 


194  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

been  a  sort  of  head  center  for  the  population  in  this  part  of 
Mexico  from  time  immemorial.  The  town  reminds  me  of  old 
Taos,  it  being  a  large  collection  of  mud  boxes,  with  doors  and 
windows  in  them,  and  miles  of  mud  wall  two  feet  thick  and 
seven  feet  high.  Every  man's  back  yard  and  front  yard,  when 
he  has  one,  is  surrounded  with  just  such  an  institution,  which 
serves  him  as  a  boundary  line  and  a  source  of  protection 
against  thieves.  But  in  El  Paso  I  find  a  few  streets,  while  in 
Taos  there  were  no  regular  streets  except  the  one  around  the 
plaza,  the  houses  and  walls  in  all  other  parts  of  the  town  being 
built  hap  hazard,  and  without  reference  to  convenience  of  lo- 
comotion for  man  or  beast. 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  a  beginning  in  El  Paso,  and  am 
about  ready  to  conclude  that  the  houses  were  punched  up  out 
of  the  mud  by  some  force  from  below,  about  the  time  the  ocean 
receded.  I  went  over  the  old  church,  and  found  it  a  duplicate 
of  those  at  Taos,  Santa  Fe,  and  other  original  towns.  Mud 
walls,  mud  floor,  mud  belfry,  and  jack-knile  carvings,  all  indi- 
cate a  date  back  of  written  history.  The  log  stairs  leading  to 
the  belfry  are  worn  half  off  with  the  boot  heels  of  near  and 
remote  generations.  I  followed  the  deep  worn  rut,  stood  be- 
side the  old  bell,  clumsily  hung  thirty  leet  from  the  ground, 
and,  after  surveying  the  quaint  old  tower,  I  reached  up  and 
wrote  the  editor's  name,  residence,  and  date  of  visit  some  two 
inches  above  the  highest  name  on  the  wall.  "At  last,"  I  said, 
"I  have  achieved  immortality,  for  this  pile  of  dirt  will  never 
crumble,  and  no  one  will  be  able  to  reach  high  enough  to  write 
above  that  name."  The  old  church  is  in  the  center  of  the 
town,  crowds  constantly  crossing  the  yard,  which  has  been 
used  as  a  cemetery  for  hundreds  of  years,  the  corpses  paying 
for  location,  according  to  their  respective  pile  and  ambition  for 
distinction.  Having  paid  for  his  place  and  got  fairly  at  rest 
beneath  a  slab  laid  flat  upon  the  ground,  the  corpse  is  trampled 
over  a  few  years,  when  some  other  corpse  buys  his  hole,  and  he 
is  shoveled  out  with  other  dirt,  to  make  room  for  the  new  pro- 
prietor. Thus  is  the  church  fund  kept  up,  and  all  the  members 
made   happy   by   the  consciousness  that  corner  lots  in  that 


THE  GAUDALOUPE  FEAST, 


195 


church  are  limitless,  and  that  money  will  always  buy  a  choice 
location. 

The  natives  here  are  as  largely  engaged  in  farming  as  any- 
thing, but  are  not  industrious  or  energetic  in  any  occupation. 
They  seem  to  be  contented  with  little  to  eat  and  wear,  provid- 
ed rum  is  cheap,  fandangos  frequent,  and  visiting  convenient. 
The  Americans  say  that  it  takes  less  money  to  keep  a  common 
Mexican  than  it  does  to  keep  a  hog.  That  may  be,  but  the  hog 
is  the  most  valuable  after  he  is  grown,  and  not  quite  so  unsight- 
ly to  behold. 

The* Rio  Grande  Valley  is  extremely  rich,  and  no  soil  is 
better  adapted  to  most  kinds  of  fruits,  many  kinds  of  grain, 
and  most  vegetables.  Even  the  rude  and  primitive  style  of 
farming  in  vogue  pays  well.  The  wood  plough,  with  an  iron 
point  bound  on  with  raw  hide,  and  with  a  single  handle,  is  the 
implement  used  for  turning  up  the  soil.  For  a  roller  a  log  is 
used,  with  a  chain  running  from  each  end  and  connected  in 
the  center,  where  the  draft  is  attached.  This  is  drawn  over 
the  ground  to  smooth  and  even  it  for  irrigation.  The  carts 
are  of  the  rudest  kind,  many  of  them  having  solid  wooden 


CART  USED  BY  MEXICANS  AND  INDIANS. 


wheels  which  revolve  on  the  axletree,  and  make  music  which 
would  shame  the  horse  fiddle.     The    industry,  intelligence, 


196  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

and  tools  of  an  eastern  farmer  would  reap  a  rich  harvest  in 
this  valley.     But  nothing  grows  here  without  irrigation. 

Every  year,  commencing  the  8th  of  December,  the  Mexi- 
cans celebrate  the  Gaudaloupe  feast.  A  brief  statement  of 
the  origin  of  this  feast  will  be  in  order  here.  Prior  to  1531 
our  Lady  of  the  Remedios  was  the  patron  saint  of  Mexico. 
On  the  12th  of  December,  1831,  a  pious  Indian,  named  Juan 
Diego,  was  praying  by  night  on  the  hill  of  Gaudaloupe,  three 
miles  outside  of  the  gates  of  Mexico,  when  there  appeared  to 
him  a  virgin,  in  dusky  face  and  splendid  robes,  who  claimed 
to  be  the  mother  of  the  Indian.  She  desired  him  to  go  to  the 
Bishop  of  Mexico,  and  tell  him  that  it  was  her  wish  that  a 
church  should  be  built  in  her  honor  on  that  spot,  and  that  if 
he  complied  it  would  save  the  Indians.  It  looked  very  im- 
probable to  Bishop  Zumarraga,  and  he  refused  to  comply. 
Diego  returned,  had  a  second  vision,  and  was  sent  a  second 
time  to  the  Bishop,  who  a  second  time  refused.  A  third  time 
the  virgin  appeared  to  Diego,  and,  as  proof  of  her  story,  sent 
to  the  Bishop  a  bunch  of  full  grown  roses,  .such  as  do  not 
grow  in  Mexico.  Diego  took  them  to  the  Bishop,  who  was 
surprised.  But  when  he  took  them  in  his  hand  and  they  fell 
apart,  disclosing  a  beautiful  picture  of  the  Holy  Virgin, 
painted  on  the  coarse  cloth  of  the  country,  with  dark  face  shin- 
ing with  sacred  light,  he  believed,  and  declared  that  a  church 
should  be  built  on  Gaudaloupe  hill  at  once.  The  virgin  after- 
wards appeared  to  others,  and  directed  where  churches  should 
be  erected.  Since  that  date  the  Virgin  of  Guadaloupe  has 
been  accepted  as  the  patron  saint  of  Mexico,  and  the  date  of 
her  coming  has  been  annually  celebrated  throughout  the 
country. 

It  amounts  to  a  general  gathering  of  the  people,  for  a  peri- 
od of  about  three  weeks,  to  eat,  drink,  smoke,  gamble,  and  be 
merry  in  a  genuine  Mexican  way.  To  see  how  this  celebra- 
tion was  conducted  was  the  principal  motive  which  sent  me 
down  here.  I  have  studied  it  two  days,  and  have  "heard 
enough. n     The  gambling  was  the  first   source  of  attraction, 


THE  GOVERNOR'S  OPINION  OF  THE  ACTORS.  197 

because  that  was  free,  and  everybody  participated.  I  found 
the  plaza  roofed  over  and  boarded  round.  Inside  was  the 
confusion  of  Babel.  A  hundred  different  gambling  tables, 
wheels,  etc.,  run  by  Mexicans,  Americans  and  Indians,  each 
using  their  own  language,  in  accents  not  mild,  made  a  Babel 
which  the  Governor  said  amounted  to  a  revised  and  correct- 
ed edition  of  the  original  work.  It  is  a  novel  sight,  and  a 
great  surprise  to  the  New  England  system  of  Sabbath  school 
instruction.  In  all  that  dense  crowd  I  did  not  discover  a  sin- 
gle person  to  object,  or  even  to  make  faces  at  the  general 
drift  of  the  entertainment.  I  did  not  do  it.  I  was  too  much 
interested  to  see  Avho  raked  in  the  precious  piles  at  the  differ- 
ent tables.  The  Governor  did  not  do  it.  There  were  too 
many  coarse  throats  throwing  off  profanity,  and  too  many  re- 
volvers in  sight,  to  allow  him  to  indulge  in  a  disquisition  on 
good  morals,  or  to  let  slip  a  word  or  look  of  reproach  against 
the  going  entertainment,  or  the  character  of  the  barbarians 
there  assembled.  On  the  contrary,  he  stepped  into  that 
roofed  plaza  and  went  dodging  and  bobbing  around  among  the 
gamblers,  stepping  with  a  light,  elastic  spring,  like  the  boy 
walking  on  eggs  and  trying  not  to  hurt  them,  skipping  a  little 
here,  nipping  a  little  there,  doing  the  polite  and  respectful  ev- 
erywhere, all  the  time  wearing  one  of  Micawber's  blandest 
smiles  and  rubbing  his  hands  gleefully,  as  much  as  to  say, 
"We  are  having  a  mighty  nice,  proper  time  here,  aren't  we?" 
Desiring  to  obtain  his  real  opinion  of  the  entertainment,  I 
coaxed  him  out  of  the  plaza,  got  him  behind  a  mud  wall,  and 
asked  what  he  thought  of  it.  Looking  back  over  his  shoul- 
der, to  make  sure  no  revolver  was  in  sight,  he  whispered  from 
the  corner  of  his  mouth,  "  Ought  to  be  hung,  every  devil  of  'em." 
Until  I  put  this  question,  I  feared  he  was  relishing  the  ungod- 
\y  sport,  but  he  was  only  making  believe  for  the  purpose  of 
personal  safety,  which  is  one  of  his  strongest  points. 

In  justice  to  the  Mexicans,  it  should  be  said  that  their  man- 
ner of  gambling  at  this  annual  feast  has  been  as  honest  as 
gambling  business  can  be.     They  had  open  work,  little  sharp 


198  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

practice,  and  very  little  of  the  revolver  element  in  their 
feasts.  But  since  the  advent  of  the  railroads  the  Yankee  el- 
ement has  worked  in  and  half  of  all  the  tables  this  year  are 
run  by  cut  throats  from  New  Mexico,  Colorado  and  Arizona. 
To  get  through  that  plaza  this  year,  with  life  and  money,  one 
is  obliged  to  hang  on  to  his  wallet,  make  no  acquaintance, 
listen  to  no  proposition,  and  engage  in  no  wrangle.  As  I 
said  in  a  former  letter,  the  Yankee  element  will  pull  a  bad  en- 
tertainment to  the  bottom  round  of  loose  morals  quicker  than 
any  other  element  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  The  same 
element  pulling  the  other  way  will  elevate  it  with  equal 
promptness.  It  is  important  to  have  the  Yankee  element 
headed  right,  as  it  makes  great  difference  in  results. 

The  Spanish  bull  tight  is  another  prominent  feature  in  these 
gatherings.  This  year  they  commenced  on  the  12th,  and  will 
continue  daily  to  the  close  of  the  feast.  We  witnessed  the 
sport  yesterday,  and  saw  a  half  dozen  bulls,  terribly  gashed, 
and  as  many  Mexicans  rolled  over  in  the  dirt.  The  ampithe- 
atre  is  built  of  coarse  boards,  150  feet  in  diameter,  and  sup- 
plied with  good  seats,  but  no  roof.  At  2  o'clock  p.  m.  a  large 
audience  of  men,  women  and  children  was  on  the  seats,  the 
bugle  sounded,  and  a  Mexican  clown  stepped  into  the  ring  and 
began  to  gibber,  sing  and  perform.  What  it  was  all  about 
was  past  our  ken.  A  second  sound  of  the  trumpet  brought 
out  a  half  dozen  Mexicans  in  red  and  blue  pants,  and  bearing 
red  hand  fla^s.  At  a  third  sound  a  door  wfts  shoved  and  a 
bull  rushed  into  the  arena.  After  surveying  the  audience, 
listening  to  the  rasping  notes  of  the  brass  band,  he  counted 
the  men  in  the  ring,  shook  his  head  and  prepared  to  carry  out 
that  part  of  the  programme  assigned  to  him.  Taking  a  dis- 
like to  a  pair  of  red  breeches,  he  made  for  them  with  tail  up 
and  head  down.  When  he  got  there,  the  breeches  were  over 
on  the  other  side.  Giving  one  puff,  the  bull  took  a  new  sur- 
vey of  the  field,  heard  a  few  more  notes  from  the  band,  and 
then  dashed  for  a  pair  of  blue  breeches  and  a  red  shirt.  They 
were  absent  at  the  time  of  his  arrival,  and  the  bull  looked  as- 


THE  BULL  FIGHT.  199 

tonished,  but  mad  as  usual.  Then  he  tried  a  dash  for  two 
pair  of  breeches  at  a  time,  but  failed  to  get  his  head  against 
anything  except  the  hand  flags.  The  Mexicans  were  nimble, 
and  every  time  cheated  the  bull  by  dodging *and  letting  him 
run  his  horns  into  the  flag.  The  bull  was  bewildered  and 
spent  a  part  of  his  time  listening  to  that  horrible  band,  ex- 
amining his  enemies,  and  making  up  his  mind  which  one  to 
annihilate.  Starting  for  one,  he  would  change  his  mind  and 
take  another,  then  a  third,  and,  finding  them  all  unreliable  he 
would  come  to  a  halt,  puff  a  note  of  disgust  for  the  band, 
survey  the  crowd,  shake  his  head  again,  plan  another 
start,  and  rush  in  with  the  usual  result.  At  another  sound 
of  the  trumpet,  the  men  took  daggers  having  barbed  points 
and  handles  ornamented  with  loose  paper  of  different  colors. 
The  bull  made  a  pass  for  an  old  man  of  70,  a  hero  of  50  bull 
fights,  but  still  nimble.  As  he  arrived,  the  old  bones  dodged, 
and  the  animal  shot  by,  carrying  in  his  neck  the  old  man's 
dagger.  The  crowd  shouted  and  threw  into  the  arena  a  dozen 
or  more  silver  pieces,  which  the  old  man  gathered  up  as  com- 
pliments for  his  agility,  keeping  an  eye  all  the  time  on  that 
bull,  of  course.  In  ten  minutes  more  the  bull  had  paid  his 
compliments  to  all  his  enemies  and  received  from  each  a  dag- 
ger in  the  neck,  which  hung  like  fish  hooks  buried  in  the 
flesh.  About  this  time  the  animal  was  disgusted  and  demor- 
alized, but  mad  enough  to  gore  the  whole  crowd  with  a  single 
plunge,  though  he  had  been  fooled  so  many  times  that  he 
seemed  to  be  in  doubt  how  to  do  it.  At  another  sound  of 
the  trumpet,  a  poniard  was  handed  one  of  the  Mexicans,  the 
star  performer,  who  was  instructed  to  kill  the  bull  by  pierc- 
ing him  before  the  shoulders.  Any  hit  behind  the  shoulders 
is  foul.  There  was  still  enough  of  the  bull  left  for  one  man 
to  get  up  a  first  class  row  with,  and  as  the  Mexican  moved 
towards  him  the  row  commenced.  The  bull  made  a  dash,  the 
Mexican  dodged,  and  at  the  same  time  struck  the  poniard  for 
the  tender  place  before  the  shoulder,  but  it  hit  a  bone,  and 
turned  the  point.     Another  poniard  was  handed  him,  another 


200  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 


dash  was  made  and  another  blow  aimed  at  the  fatal  point,  but 
it  only  gashed  the  hide  and  the  bull  passed  by  to  consider. 
A  dozen  dashes  were  followed  by  as  many  failures  to  hit  the 
exact  point.  The  result  of  the  whole  was  a  bull  bleeding  pro- 
fusely from  numerous  gashes,  but  still  alive,  and  the  failure 
of  the  Mexican  to  satisfactorily  perform  his  part.  A  half 
dozen  bulls  went  through  the  same  performance  and  the  show 
was  ended  for  that  day.  The  day  before  and  the  day  after 
the  performance  we  witnessed,  the  same  Mexican  succeeded  in 
stabbing  his  bull  to  death,  "handsomely,"  as  I  was  told.  For- 
ty-five bulls  were  gathered  for  the  series  of  shows,  and  the 
programme  announced  that  "one  bull  was  to  be  killed  at  each 
entertainment."  The  Governor  thought  if  he  had  been  mak- 
ing the  programme,  he  would  have  added,  "and  six  Mexicans," 
as  this  feature  would  draw  immensely  where  greasers  are 
best  known.  To  New  England  eyes  the  entertainment  was 
more  novel  than  pleasing.  I  knew  the  bull  wasn't  to  blame 
about  anything,  and  I  couldn't  help  siding  with  him.  Two  or 
three  times  he  knocked  a  Mexican  over,  and  ploughed  the 
ground  with  his  horns.  I  suppose  it  was  wicked,  but  I  could 
not  avoid  the  wish  to  see  him  plough  just  enough  Mexican 
hide  to  let  the  performer  realize  the  character  of  the  enter- 
tainment, audi  feel  the  part  the  bull  was  playing.  But  the  per- 
formers had  graduated  from  some  school  where  dodging  is  the 
principal  study  in  the  curriculum.  They  were  quick,  nimble 
and  tough,  and  evidently  were  not  facing  a  wild  bull  for  the 
first  time. 

Other  sports  of  the  ring  are  tests  of  horsemanship,  but 
without  a  little  blood  the  average  Mexican  is  not  entertain- 
ed. One  game  is  that  a  chicken  is  laid  upon  its  back,  and 
held  down  by  dirt  laid  upon  its  wings.  A  bugle  sounds  and 
contestants  rush  around  the  ring  at  full  speed.  The  first  man 
who  succeeds  in  catching  up  the  chicken  as  he  passes,  wins  the 
prize.  This  game  furnishes  much  sport,  as,  unless  one  is  an 
expert  at  hanging  on,  he  will  pitch  off  when  he  stoops  to 
catch  the  fowl.     Another  game  is  pulling  off  the  head  of  a 


EL  PASO  WOOD.  201 

greased  goose.  The  goose  is  suspended  over  the  ring,  head 
downwards.  The  horsemen  fly  by,  and  the  first  one  who  is 
quick  enough  and  strong  enough  to  grip  the  head  of  the  goose 
and  pull  it  off,  is  the  winner. 

To  a  stranger,  another  interesting  feature  is  found  in  the 
style  of  the  people  and  the  character  of  the  wares  sold  around 
the  outside  of  the  gambling  plaza.  I  couldn't  count  them,  and 
couldn't  describe  a  quarter  of  the  things  offered  for  sale.  One 
class  of  peddlers  consisted  of  women  who  sat  in  the  dirt, 
with  a  pan  of  lard  before  them,  on  a  bed  of  coals.  They  had 
a  board,  the  size  of  a  large  school  slate,  lying  in  the  dirt, 
and  on'  this  board  they  were  rolling  out  dough  and  patting  it 
into  the  thickness  of  a  wafer.  This  was  handed  to  another 
woman,  also  in  the  dirt,  who  dropped  it  into  the  fat,  where  it 
remained  one  minute,  and  was  ready  for  the  Mexican  stomach 
at  two  for  five  cents. 

Tortilla  is  the  name  of  this  Mexican  dainty,  and  it  would 
be  palatable  if  one  could  forget  the  scene  of  its  manufacture. 
But  this  scene,  minus  the  dust,  is  common  now  in  Mexican 
kitchens  at  meal  time,  when  the  whole  family  sit  around  on 
the  mud  floor,  while  the  mother  passes  the  tortillas  from  the 
frying  pan  to  the  fingers  of  the  individual  members.  It  fre- 
quently constitutes  the  entire  meal,  and  all  the  housewife  has 
to  do,  in  the  way  of  cleaning  off  table  and  washing  dishes,  is 
to  set  away  the  frying  pan  and  sweep  up  the  hearth  of  the 
fire  place. 

They  had  another  mixture  of  dough,  in  which  they  spread 
some  kind  of  red  pepper,  boiled  and  mashed,  and  then  fold- 
ed and  fried.  When  this  article  of  diet  came  out  of  the  fat 
it  looked  like  a  kitchen  holder,  with  long  service  on  rusty  flat 
irons  and  stove  hooks.  The  Governor's  curiosity  was  so  ex- 
cited that  he  invested  five  cents,  bit  off  a  section  of  the  hold- 
er, and  commenced  business.  .1  saw  there  was  trouble.  After 
chewing  and  heaving  for  a  minute,  a  generous  streak  took  him, 
and  he  offered  to  let  me  taste,  not  even  marking  with  his  fin- 
ger how  far  up  I  should  bite.     It  was  not  natural,  and  I  sus- 


202  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

pected  him.  I  had  previously  noticed  that  whenever  he  let 
me  taste  of  anything  good,  he  always  held  his  fingers  over  the 
part  he  wanted  to  save,  so  that  I  could  not  get  a  square 
mouthful  without  injuring  the  anatomy  of  the  donor,  which 
would  not  be  the  correct  thing.  I  suspected  from  this  that 
the  holder  was  not  good,  that  it  was  not  the  kind  of  a  turn- 
over he  expected  or  cared  to  save.  I  told  him  I  was  not  hun- 
gry. The  Mexicans  call  this  kitchen  holder  "chila,"  and  it  is 
as  common  and  popular  here  as  bread  is  in  Vermont.  Every 
family  has  the  chila  patch,  and  the  outside  walls  of  every  mud 
house  are  strung  with  red  peppers  in  the  fall,  to  dry. 

I  have  no  idea  that  the  Old  Mexico  El  Paso  will  receive 
much  growth  from  the  new  railroad  impetus.  The  other  side 
of  the  river  is  newer,  has  a  smaller  proportion  of  Mexican 
people  and  mud  houses,  and,  unless  the  average  Mexican  im- 
bibes the  spirit  of  progress  from  contagion,  the  old  town  will 
remain  about  where  it  is.  As  a  point  of  curiosity  it  is  worth 
visiting,  because  one  here  can  see  the  Mexican  at  home,  in  his 
native  manners  and  customs,  little  influenced  by  contact  with 
the  more  progressive  element  in  the  States. 

El  Paso  on  the  Texas  side  has  a  future,  and  will  be  heard 
from  hereafter.  Everything  is  booming,  and  is  pushed  for- 
ward by  an  intelligent,  enterprising  and  energetic  class  of 
population . 

The  wood  used  here  is  the  mesquite  root,  which  grows  in  the 
sand,  and  which  is  always  very  dry  and  good  to  burn.  From 
beneath  one  little  bush,  no  larger  than  a  bushel  basket,  a  half 
cord  of  these  root  chunks  are  frequently  dug,  and  are  ready 
for  the  stove  the  moment  they  come  out.  The  cost  to  the 
consumer  is  about  $12  a  cord.  It  is  excellent  to  burn  and 
lasts  well,  but  a  pile  of  wood  in  El  Paso  is  about  as  shapely 
and  sightly  as  a  pile  of  lobsters  seen  on  the  coast  of  Maine. 
It  is  packed  into  the  village  on  the  back  of  the  meek  and  sub- 
missive burro,  which  does  the  principal  part  of  the  native's 
freighting. 


QUESTIONS  ANSWERED. 


Run  No.  27. 


RAILROADING— CLIMATE,  SUNSHINE,  RAINY  SEASON,  MUD— ROADS, 
HIGHWAY  TAX,  ARROYOS— FUEL  AND  BUILDING  MATERIAL, 
STONE,  BRICK,  LUMBER  AND  SOIL,  PLASTERING,  WHITEWASH, 
FURNITURE— WATER— SAW-MILLS— GRIST  MILLS— MECHANICAL 
LABOR— MINISTERS,  DOCTORS,  LAWYERS— FARMING  OPPORTUNI- 
TIES—STOCK RAISING— GRASSES,  HAY— PROSPECTS  OF  SETTLE- 
MENT—CHARACTER OF  THE  PEOPLE,  SOCIETY,  HABITS  OF  LIVING 
—THOUGHTS  ON  EMIGRATION— EXPERIENCE  OF  A  VERMONTER. 


Eaton,  N.  M.;  December  18,  1881. 

On  the  evening  of  the  16th,  having  seen  enough  of  the 
wholesale  gambling,  bull  fights,  and  Mexicans  at  home,  we  left 
El  Paso,  rode  421  miles  in  27  hours,  arriving  at  this  place  at  8 
o'clock  last  evening.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  figures  that 
railroading  in  New  Mexico  averages  about  16  miles  per  hour, 
owing  to  long  and  heavy  grades.  A  50  mile  up  grade  is  noth- 
ing here,  where  immense  swells  of  the  prairie  have  to  be  passed 
over.  The  passenger  trains  are  long  and  generally  well  load- 
ed, and  on  some  of  the  up  grades  make  scarcely  ten  miles  an 
hour.  Time  is  made  up  on  the  down  grades,  but  the  maximum 
speed  is  limited,  so  that  the  down  grades  fail  to  bring  up  the 
average  speed  to  much  over  16  miles.  The  local  fare  in  New 
Mexico  is  9  1-2  cents  a  mile.  No  one  in  the  territory  who  en- 
joys the  improvement  in  property,  in  society,  in  facility  of  busi- 
ness, etc.,  which  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  road  has 
occasioned,  is  disposed  to  complain  at  the  price,  but  all  are 


204  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

willing  to  allow  liberal  rates  for  a  while,  as  compensation  for 
valuable  pioneering  service.  Those,  who  are  inclined  to  grum- 
ble are  easily  cured  by  considering  what  New  Mexico  would 
be  without  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe.  Any  legisla- 
tion, at  present,  tending  to  interfere  with  the  tariff  of  this  road 
would  amount  to  base  ingratitude. 

Raton  is  the  last  stop  we  make  in  New  Mexico,  as  we  are  on 
our  way  home.  Before  taking  our  departure,  the  reader  will 
please  indulge  me  in  a  few  reflections  suggested  by  the  "Runs." 
Supposing  I  anticipate  inquiries,  put  my  reflections  into  the 
form  of  questions  and  answers,  and  let  you,  reader,  ask  the 
questions. 

How  do  you  like  the  climate  ? 

First  rate.  The  altitude  is  high,  and  the  wind,  being  robbed 
of  its  moisture  as  it  comes  over  the  mountains,  gives  a  dry  at- 
mosphere. Nothing  rots  here.  The  bottom  of  a  board  lying 
on  the  ground  is  always  as  dry  as  the  top.  Timber  will  last 
five  times  as  long  as  in  Vermont,  either  in  the  ground  or  out. 
No  one  ever  saw  a  rotten  cedar  post  here.  Fresh  meat  is 
cured  by  hanging  it  out  doors,  "jerked,"  as  they  say,  into  strips. 
Cured  in  this  way  it  keeps  forever.  The  grasses  cure  on  the 
stubble,  retaining  all  their  properties  for  winter  food.  The 
sun  is  always  bright,  and  the  cheering  influence  of  its  rays  is 
felt  the  moment  it  peeps  over  the  horizon,  while  almost  the  mo- 
ment it  disappears  it  becomes  dark,  and  the  atmosphere  be- 
comes cool.  There  is  very  little  of  the  poetic  twilight  here. 
The  climate  is  always  healthy.  Consumption  and  asthma 
have  no  chance  whatever  at  human  anatomy,  and  other  disea- 
ses, rheumatism  excepted,  are  always  atja  disadvantage.  There 
is  a  rainy  season,  beginning  in  early  summer,  and  lasting 
usually  four  weeks,  during  which  time  the  sun  rises  bright  in 
the  morning,  and  continues  to  shine  till  noon,  when  all  at  once 
immense  black  clouds  gather  in  the  clear  sky — nobody  knows 
how — the  lightnings  flash,  the  thunders  roar,  and  it  begins  to 
pour.  It  does  not  rain,  but  great  sheets  of  water  drop  down 
out  of  the  sky  and  flood  the  prarie  ankle  deep.  The  broad 
sides  of  the  great  mountains  send  down  the  wTater,  which  goes 


CONDITION  OF  THE  ROADS.  205 

rushing  over  the  plain,  cutting  out  the  earth  in  the  arroyos, 
which  are  already  of  great  depth  and  width  along  the  road 
sides  and  over  the  prairies.  During  this  season  the  mud  is 
a  formidable  enemy  to  travel,  trade,  and  general  comfort.  It 
makes  wagon  wheels  look  like  solid  substance  four  inches 
thick,  and  swells  the  traveler's  boot  into  the  dimensions  of  a 
common  size  valise.  But  he  can  cut  the  mud  off  with  a  jack 
knife,  and  thus  restore  the  original  dimension.  After  about 
four  weeks  the  rain  ceases,  the  ground  dries  up,  and  the  bright 
sun  has  full  sway  for  the  next  eleven  months,  barring  an  occa- 
sional shower,  which  is  always  an  exception,  to  the  general  rule 
of  the  weather.  In  the  winter  two  or  three  minor  snow 
storms  are  apt  to  put  in  an  appearance,  snow  remaining  on  the 
grouud  only  a  day  or  two,  though  it  is  in  sight  on  the  moun- 
tain six  months  in  the  year. 

What  is  the  condition  of  the  roads? 

For  the  most  part  the  roads  are  just  what  the  wagon  wheels 
make  them.  A  road  tax  of  a  dollar  a  head  is  assessed,  and  in 
part  collected,  but  little  or  no  work  is  done  on  the  highway, 
except  in  the  mountains.  On  the  prairie,  when  one  trail  be- 
comes worn,  or  cut  out  by  water,  the  teams  haw  or  gee  out, 
and  a  new  trail  is  soon  rutted  beside  the  old  one.  It  takes 
years  for  a  worn  and  abandoned  trail  to  grow  over  with  grass. 
The  old  Santa  Fe  trail,  from  Kansas  City  to  Santa  Fe,  which 
has  not  been  used  for  three  years,  is  still  as  bare  as  ever,  and 
in  many  places  is  20  to  30  rods  wide.  There  are  no  bridges  or 
culverts.  The  roads  always  twist  round  to  a  shallow  place  in 
the  stream,  which  is  used  both  as  a  bridge  and  a  watering  place. 
The  only  severe  service  the  wagons  have  is  in  crossing  the  ar- 
royos,  or  deep  ditches,  which  in  New  England  would  be  sup- 
plied with  stone  and  plank  culverts.  These  places  are  some- 
times almost  impassable,  being  a  pitch  down  and  then  up,  any- 
where from  two  to  twenty  feet,  on  an  angle  often  as  steep  as 
45  degrees.  For  about  eleven  months  in  the  year  the  roads 
are  dry,  hard  as  mcadam,  and  just  splendid. 

What  is  used  for  fuel  and  building  material? 

The  cow  boys,  out  upon  the  prairie,  far  away  from  timber, 


206  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

find  a  convenient  fuel  in  buffalo  or  cow  chips.  This  is  impro- 
vised fuel,  but,  being  made  of  grass,  and  always  dry,  it  burns 
well.  The  common  fuel  ispinon,  the  best  fire-place  wood  in 
the  world,  full  of  pitch,  and  burns  like  a  pine  knot.  The  foot 
hills  about  Sante  Fe  are  covered  with  it,  and  it  is  so  abundant 
that  the  probable  settlement  of  the  country  will  hardly  make 
an  impression-  on  it  in  a  hundred  years.  Mexicans  cut  it 
where  they  please,  on  anybody's  land,  pack  it  on  the  meek 
burros,  and  carry  it  to  town  to  sell  for  25  cents  a  burro  load. 
On  the  streams  the  cotton  wood  abounds.  In  the  lower  part 
of  the  territory  pinondoes  not  grow,  and  cedar,  pine,  and,  in 
the  extreme  South,  mesquite  roots  constitute  the  fqel.  But 
the  coming  fuel  is  soft  coal,  of  which  northern  New  Mexico 
contains  enough  to  supply  the  whole  country  for  years.  The 
mountains  contain  spruce  and  pine,  which  will  furnish  build- 
ing material  forever.  They  are  exhaustless.  The  pine,  how- 
ever, is  pitchy,  hard  to  dress,  and  not  so  good  as  eastern 
pine.  In  many  places  good  clay  is  found  for  brick,  and  ev- 
erywhere in  the  foot  hills  and  mesas  excellent  stone  is  found, 
lying  in  horizontal  strata,  any  thickness  desired,  and  easily 
pried  apart  and  split  into  proper  dimensions  for  building. 
The  best  material  for  a  stone  house  can  be  obtained  with  a  tri- 
fle more  than  the  cost  of  the  draw  bill.  But  the  most  common 
material  for  building  is  the  soil  itself,  made  into  adobe  bricks, 
as  I  have  before  described.  Earth,  water  and  straw,  mixed, 
moulded,  and  dried  in  the  sun,  makes  the  favorite  building 
wall  of  the  country.  It  is  durable,  warm  in  winter,  cool  in 
summer,  and  will  not  blow  away.  An  adobe  house  is  gener- 
ally right  there.  The  Indian,  or  the  Spaniard,  who  built  the 
first  adobe,  did  not  furnish  evidence  of  stupidity  in  so  doing. 
He  knew  what  was  handy  to  get,  and  what  was  adapted  to 
the  country.  And  for  hundreds  of  years  past  his  descendants 
and  others,  who  have  followed  him  in  the  valleys  of  New 
Mexico,  have  confirmed  the  wisdom  of  his  choice  by  using  the 
same  material,  though  living  in  the  vicinity  of  splendid  for- 
ests and  the  best  building  stone.     Good  plastering  for  walls, 


WATER  AND  MILLS.  207 

house  floors,  fire  places  and  hearths,  is  found  in  the  soil  mixed 
with  sand  and  water.  This  is  also  good  for  plastering  the 
outside  of  the  houses,  covering  the  cracks  made  by  the  .adobe 
bricks,  and  giving  it  a  smooth  surface,  which  can  be  checked 
off  into  uniform  square  blocks.  A  white  clay  is  found  in  the 
hills  which,  thinned  with  water,  makes  a  perfect  whitewash, 
and  is  generally  used.  A  yellow  earth  is  also  found,  contain- 
ing a  sprinkling  of  mica.  This  is  dissolved,  and  makes  a 
beautiful  yellow  tint  for  the  walls,  the  dots  of  mica  giving  the 
walls  the  appearance  of  having  golden  specks  in  the  finish. 
For  roofing,  the  common  Mexican  adobe  has  poles  laid  across 
the  outside  walls  and  covered  with  straw,  and  then  mud,  six 
to  twelve  inches  deep.  The  original  adobe  has  no  wood  about 
it,  except  these  poles,  and  the  boards  which  swing  for  doors.  A 
finished  modern  adobe  has  a  pitch  shingled  roof,  corner  boards, 
window  and  door  casings,  good  inside  work,  and  is  made  after 
the  manner  of  an  eastern  brick  house,  though  seldom  but  one 
story.  Well-to-do  people  who  have  built  recently  have  large, 
high  rooms,  the  most  costly  wall  paper,  with  rich  carpets  and 
upholstered  furniture.  Do  not  imagine  that  the  luxuries  of 
life  are  necessarily  strangers  to  the  inside  of  an  adobe  house. 

What  are  the  conveniences  for  water  ? 

There  is  an  occasional  spring  in  the  foot  hills,  from  which 
water  is  carried  to  houses,  but  most  country  families  rely  upon 
wells  or  water  in  the  streams.  In  the  growing  cities  water 
companies  are  among  the  first  formed,  to  bring  water  from  the 
hills  or  some  place  where  it  is  pure.  There  is  an  unusual 
amount  of  alkali  in  the  water,  and  a  stranger  who  indulges  too 
freely  is  notified  of  the  fact  by  a  rumbling,  which  alarms  him 
and  puts  him  on  guard.  Water  privileges  are  scarce.  I  went 
through  the  whole  length  of  the  territory  four  times,  and  did 
not  discover  one.     But  there  are  some  in  the  mountain  streams. 

Are  there  any  saw  mills  ? 

Very  few,  probably  not  a  dozen  in  the  whole  territory. 
Most  of  the  lumber  used  thus  far  has  been  freighted  from  the 
east.  The  vast  forests  of  pine,  spruce,  cedar  and  oak  have  for 
the   most  part   been    undisturbed.     Every  growing  town   is 


208  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

troubled  to  get  lumber,  as,  with  its  other  freight,  the  railroad  is 
hardly  able  to  supply  the  demaDd.  It  is  a  country  promising 
rich  harvests  to  enterprising  mill  companies.  Timber  territory 
can  be  purchased  for  a  song,  and  native  pine  is  $32  a  thousand. 
Lumber  men  can  figure  it.  Manufactured  pine  would  cost  the 
mill  men  less,  probably,  than  manufactured  spruce  costs  in 
Vermont.  The  splendid  opportunities  to  make  money  in  the 
manufacturing  of  lumber  will  not  be  long  unimproved. 

Are  there  any  grist  mills  ? 

There  is  nowhere  in  the  territory  what  would  be  called  in 
Vermont  a  good  grist  mill.  Flour  is  freighted  from  St.  Louis, 
and  feed  is  in  little  demand.  If  a  stock  man  had  a  barn  full  of 
feed,  he  would  not  know  what  to  do  with  it.  Stock  feeds  itself 
on  grass  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  Bulls  are  kept  up  at  cer- 
tain seasons,  but  are  fed  on  hay.  Horses  are  stabled  some- 
times, but  hay,  with  a  little  oats  and  corn,  constitutes  their 
diet.  From  time  immemorial  a  large  portion  of  the  Mexicans 
have  ground  their  flour  and  corn  by  hand,  from  day  to  day,  as 
they  use  it.  In  the  villages  they  may  have  a  little  one  stone 
mill,  but  all  of  them  may  not  patronize  it.  The  "honest  miller" 
had  better  remain  east. 

What  kind  of  mechanical  labor  is  most  in  demand  ? 

House  carpenters  and  masons,  at  present.  But  any  kind  of 
mechanical  skill  will  find  quick  employment  and  good  pay  in 
New  Mexico.  The  mechanics,  except  those  brought  in  by  the 
railroads,  are  not  the  best.  I  have  given  the  prices  of  labor  in 
my  letters  from  the  different  places,  but  the  report  comes  from 
every  growing  town  that  skilled  labor  is  in  demand,  and  far 
ahead  of  the  supply.  This  must  be  the  case  for  many  years  to 
come,  as  in  new  countries  emigration  always  keeps  ahead  of 
the  mechanic.  New  countries  are  usually  supplied  with  cheap 
mechanics,  who  are  starved  out  of  populous  places  by  compe- 
tition, but  good  ones  are  always  scarce. 

Is  it  a  good  field  for  professional  men  ? 

There  is  a  big  job  here  for  clergymen — almost  too  big  to  un- 
dertake at  present.  I  do  not  know  of  a  Protestant  clergyman 
outside  of  Raton,  Las  Vegas,  Santa  Fe,  Alberquerque,  Socorro, 


MINISTERS,  DOCTORS  AND  LAWYERS.  209 

Silver  City  and  White  Oaks.  Each  of  those  places  furnishes  a 
good  field  for  labor.  But  the  impression  prevails  here  that 
New  Mexico  has  been  imposed  upon  by.  a  class  of  incompetent 
and  unreliable  ministers ;  that  it  has  been  used  as  a  sort  of  re- 
ceiving depot  for  cast-offs  in  the  profession.  One  minister  in 
the  territory  has  been  shot,  several  put  into  jail,  while  oth- 
ers have  been  compelled  to  take  leg  bail  for  parts  unknown. 
It  is  a  poor  country  for  one  to  dictate  morals  to  others  and  for- 
get them  himself.  Honest,  sincere  and  able  ministers  would 
command  the  respect  of  the  people,  secure  a  good  following, 
and  effect  good  results. 

Doctors  find  it  "distressingly  healthy,"  but  when  they  get  a 
patient,  his  name  on  the  ledger  shows  a -rapid  making  up  of  lost 
time.  A  good  doctor,  with  a  reasonable  and  honest  account 
book,  would  get  business  enough  as  soon  as  the  people  learned 
his  character.  There  are  plenty  of  quacks  here,  who  never 
saw  the  inside  of  a  medical  college,  and  whose  knowledge  of 
medicine  does  not  extend  beyond  the  ledger.  I  know  one  doc- 
tor here — a  quack — who  followed  a  patient  a  year,  got  $800 
out  of  him,  and  the  patient  got  well  in  spite  of  the  treatment. 

Lawyers  !  Well,  I  never  knew  a  lawyer  to  drop  into  a  place 
but  what  there  was  a  row  brewing  as  soon  as  he  got  his  kit  out, 
and  got  to  work.  Of  course  it  is  a  good  field  for  lawyers,  be- 
cause it  requires  but  little  effort  here  to  start  a  row.  But  New 
Mexico  is  not  a  healthy  place  for  prosecuting  attorneys  at  pres- 
ent. They  are  apt  to  drop  off  suddenly  in  the  bloom  of  health, 
not  with  heart  disease  exactly,  but  with — it  isn't  mentioned  in 
the  books,  with  the — the  skimmer  complaint — a  disease  of  holes 
peculiar  to  this  locality,  and  which  is  apt  to  overtake  a  man 
who  is  trying  to  force  obnoxious  opinions  down  unwilling  lis- 
teners. In  most  other  branches  of  law,  business  is  abundant  and 
remunerative.  Settling  titles  must  be  a  good  business  for  years 
to  come,  because  nearly  all  titles  are  mixed  with  government 
grants,  fraudulent  conveyances,  etc.,  There  are  plenty  of  law- 
yers here,  but  those  who  are  well  read  in  territorial  law,  and 
are  able  and  reliable,  are  rare,  and  are  in  good  demand.  Fees 
are  regulated  by  the  size  of  the  client's  pile  and  his  reputation 
14 


210  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

for  industry.  If  he  is  a  lazy  cuss,  they  take  the  pile  and  square 
the  book,  but  if  he  gets  through  the  suit  without  an  entire  loss 
of  ambition,  they  leave  .the  ledger  open  for  the  products  of  his 
future  industry.  1  am  speaking  now  of  clients  who  win  their 
cases.  I  haven't  found  one  of  the  other  kind.  They  are  sel- 
dom seen  after  the  suit. 

What  is  the  opportunity  for  farming  ? 

Only  that  portion  of  New  Mexico,  which  can  be  irrigated  can 
ever  be  farmed.  No  country  in  the  world  is  more  fertile  than 
the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  which  is  as  extensive  as  half  ol 
New  England.  The  Pecos,  Moro,  and  numerous  smaller  valleys, 
are  likewise  fertile,  and  the  soil  of  the  entire  territory  is  rich. 
Any  part  of  the  territory  will  yield  good  returns  for  labor 
where  irrigation  is  not  too  expensive.  Companies  are  being 
formed  in  Colorado  and  Kansas  for  irrigating  land  at  $1.00  an 
acre  per  season.  Many  consider  irrigation  preferable  to  natural 
rain,  as  in  the  former  case  moisture  can  be  regulated,  while  in 
the  latter  it  is  often  too  wet  or  too  dry  for  successful  crop  re- 
sults. At  present,  in  New  Mexico  every  farmer  provides  his 
own  irrigation.  He  goes  far  enough  above  his  farm  to  tap  a 
stream,  and  then  conducts  the  water  to  his  farm  in  an  acequia, 
or  ditch,  running  it  along  the  whole  length  of  his  farm,  open- 
ing it  at  such  times  and  places  as  necessity  requires,  and  clos- 
ing the  openings  when  he  has  enough.  No  manure  is  used. 
Irrigation  is  a  fertilizer  of  itself.  With  a  good  stream  above 
him  no  fanner  has  any  fear  of  drouth.  The  land  yields  abund- 
antly of  grain,  wheat  excepted,  and  most  kinds  of  vegetables, 
potatoes  excepted.  Up  in  the  mountain  canons  and  parks  pota- 
toes can  be  raised,  and,  with  a  product  of  200  bushel  per  acre, 
selling  at  three  cents  a  pound,  it  is  certainty  a  profitable  return 
for  labor.  All  farm  products  are  in  good  demand  at  a  high 
price,  because  the  territory  does  not  at  present  raise  as  much 
as  it  consumes*  Cattle,  sheep,  and  minerals  are  the  products 
which  bring  money  into  the  territory,  and  part  of  that  money 
goes  out  to  bring  in  produce.  Dairy  farming  must  be  profita- 
ble, because  cows  are  countless,  pasturage  constant  and  almost 
without  price,  and  good  butter  sells  at  50  cents  a  pound.     Farm- 


farming:  211 

ers  can  easily  calculate  the  profit.  Vegetable  farming,  in  the 
vicinity  of  large  towns  and  mining  camps  can  be  made  very 
profitable,  because  land  is  cheap  and  fertile.  All  vegetables 
are  high,  and  must  always  be  high,  because  of  the  increase  of  pop- 
ulation in  mines,  stock  regions  and  villages  will  keep  ahead 
of  farming  population,  and  make  the  demand  greater  than  the 
supply.  Fifteen  years  ago  M.  M.  Chase  cleared,  above  his  liv- 
ing expenses  $2,000  on  160  acres  of  land.  His  crop  was  about 
3000  bushels  of  oats,  corn,  and  wheat,  which  he  sold  at  an  aver- 
age of  three  cents  a  pound.  It  is  his  opinion  that  a  Vermont 
farmer  could  bring  his  intelligence  and  perseverance  here,  and 
clear  25  per  cent,  a  year  on  his  investment  in  farm  and  outfit. 
Men  who  come  here,  select  the  right  location — that  is  impor- 
tant— stick  to  business  with  industry  and  good  calculation,  and 
not  get  the  stock  raising  fever,  can  make  money  by  farming. 

Why  is  there  danger  of  getting  the  stock  raising  fever  ? 

Because  that  is  the  surest  and  most  profitable  legitimate 
business  of  the  west.  There  is  no  difference  of  opinion  on  this 
question.  Everybody  concedes  it  without  argument,  and  every- 
body, no  matter  what  or  how  profitable  his  own  business,  looks 
upon  the  large  stock  raiser  as  a  happy  man,  because  he  is  a 
man  of  much  leisure,  and  steadily  increasing  income.  With 
good  care  and  calculation,  and  occasional  personal  attention,  he 
can  rely  upon  the  jaws  of  his  animals  to  do  his  work  and  bring 
in  his  income.  A  man  who  has  a  good  range  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  embarassment,  and  relieved  from  the  necessity  of  dai- 
ly and  hourly  strain  of  both  body  and  mind  in  the  effort  to 
acquire  wealth.  When  the  business  is  properly  organized  and 
manned,  the  result  is  almost  certain. 

What  hind  of  grass  does  the  stock  graze  upon? 

Buffalo,  grama,  mesquite,  bunch  grass,  blue  grass,  and — 
we  do  not  recall  all  the  names.  There  are  several  other 
kinds.  Grass  does  not  cover  the  ground  so  as  to  make  a  con- 
tinuous turf,  as  in  Vermont,  but  grows  in  little  bunches,  sev- 
eral inches  apart,  occupying  not  much  over  half  the  surface. 
Ten  acres  is  the  usual  allowance  for  a  cow — or  10,000  acres 
for  a  herd  of  1,000  cattle.     Few  ever  stock  so  heavy  as  that. 


212  THE  EDITORS  RUN. 

At  this  season  the  country  has  a  sort  of  dark  buff  color,  and 
the  grass  appears  dead,  but  it  is  only  cured,  and  its  relishing 
and  fattening  qualities  are  all  there.  There  are  numerous  ve- 
gas  or  low  places  in  the  prairie,  where  the  water  comes  near 
to  the  surface,  on  which  the  turf  is  continuous,  and  yields  an 
abundance  of  the  best  hay.  I  have  seen  the  mowers  plying 
over  the  vegas  and  cutting  a  large  crop  of  hay,  after  the  graz- 
ing herds  have  had  access  to  them  through  the  season.  This 
may  be  because  the  prairie  was  not  fully  stocked,  or  because 
the  herd  prefers  the  grass  on  dry  land,  so  long  as  they  can 
get  their  fill  without  too  much  work.  There  are  times,  when 
snow  falls  and  remains  a  few  days,  that  stock  suffers  and 
grows  poor.  In  winter  they  graze  near  the  shelter  of  trees 
and  hills.  The  winters  are  not  so  mild  that  good  shelter  is  of 
no  consequence.  Every  purchaser  of  a  ranch  considers  his 
water  first,  his  shelter  second,  and  his  grass  last.  There  is 
grass  everywhere,  but  water  and  shelter  are  not  so  abundant. 
Thousands  of  miles  of  the  territory  can  never  be  utilized  un- 
til the  long  stretches  of  unwatered  prairie  are  supplied  by 
windmills  or  engines  to  pump  water  from  wells  into  earth 
tanks  or  artificial  wells. 

Witt  New  Mexico  settle  rapidly  ? 

It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  it  will  ever  be  as  densely 
populated  as  New  England  is  now.  For  the  next  generation 
a  few  men  and  a  few  great  companies,  comparatively,  will 
control  the  grazing  territory,  which  will  limit  settlement  in 
the  open  prairie.  There  are  bright  men  here  who  see  the  op- 
portunities, and,  as  far  as  they  can,  they  will  obtain  land  in 
large  tracts  and  stock  it.  Only  the  valleys,  canons  and  moun- 
tain parks  will  be  secured  for  variety  farming.  The  territory 
numbers  but  125,000  people,  and  there  is  good  farming  coun- 
try for  several  times  that  number.  The  question  of  settlement 
depends  upon  the  people  and  the  legislature  here,  upon  what 
inducements  are  offered,  what  advertising  is  done,  how  the 
mines  hold  out,  etc.  There  is  room  enough  for  millions  of 
people  here,  and  paying  occupation  for  them  in  the  mines,  on 


RAPID  SETTLEMENT  PREDICTED.  213 

the  farms  and  ranches,  and  in  the  place  of  middlemen.  The 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  road  is  entitled  to  the  credit 
of  opening  up  the  country,  and  the  first  year's  work  of  that 
corporation  is  simply  astonishing  in  its  results  upon  the  set- 
tlement of  the  territory  and  upon  values.  New  Mexico  is  no 
longer  out  of  the  world.  It  is  a  country  nearly  600  miles 
square,  rich  in  mineral,  grazing  and  tillage,  and  with  a  pleas- 
ing and  healthful  climate.  Its  drawbacks  are  scarcity  of  riv- 
ers and  springs,  too  little  rain  in  eleven  months  of  the  year, 
and  too  much  in  one.  But  people  think  that  these  drawbacks 
will  diminish  with  the  settlement  of  the  country.  Foreign 
immigration  was  never  so  great  as  now,  and  most  of  this  goes 
west.  I  think  the  year  1882  will  send  a  boom  all  over  New 
Mexico.  More  railroads  are  to  be  built,  new  cities  are  spring- 
ing up,  and  those  started  are  full  of  life,  bustle,  energy  and 
expectation.  The  people  see  opportunities  everywhere  ;  they 
see  them  in  stock  raising,  farming,  and  mining  for  coal,  iron, 
lead,  copper,  silver  and  gold,  in  building  houses,  selling 
goods,  banking,  and  all  other  occcupations  incident  to  fast 
growing  communities.  The  wealth  of  the  mines  has  been 
known  to  the  world  ever  since  the  Spaniards  first  opened 
them,  and  ever  since  the  Indians  closed  them  up  they  have 
been  inaccessible  to  business  energy.  Even  business  men 
prefer  their  scalps  to  gold  and  silver.  But  the  territory  is 
now  accessible,  order  is  being  restored,  and  the  natural  re- 
sources of  the  territory  will  be  a  powerful  magnet  to  people 
and  capital.  I  feel  sure  of  it.  Yes,  I  think  New  Mexico 
will  settle  rapidly. 

What  is  the  character  of  the  people,  condition  of  society,  hab- 
its of  living,  etc.  ? 

Just  about  the  same  as  in  all  new  countries.  You  find  as 
good  people  in  every  growing  New  Mexico  town  as  you  find 
in  the  best  town  in  Vermont.  No  matter  what  kind  of  a  per- 
son you  may  be,  you  can  match  yourself  in  any  of  these 
towns.  There  is  a  larger  per  cent,  of  roughs  here 
than  there.     But  there  are  no  meaner  persons  here  than  there. 


214  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

The  bad  are  bolder,  more  open  ;  that  is  the  difference.  The 
standard  of  business  integrity  is  better  here  than  in  Vermont. 
In  proportion  to  the  number  of  people,  there  are  fewer  tricky, 
dishonest,  unreliable  business  men.  If  a  man  gives  his  word 
in  a  trade  here,  he  performs  it,  or  down  goes  his  reputation, 
aud  with  it  his  business.  For  narrowness,  picayunishness 
and  meanness,  Vermont  can  beat  New  Mexico  every  time. 
For  bold  wickedness  and  general  hellishness,  New  Mexico 
can  discount  Vermont.  Take  your  choice.  If  in  any  of  my 
letters  I  have  conveyed  the  impression  that  people  are  not 
safe  here,  it  is  a  mistake.  Shooting,  to  be  sure,  is  a  common 
and  familiar  scene,  but  occurs  mostly  in  quarrels.  A  peace- 
able man,  who  minds  his  own  business,  and  does  not  get  down 
into  the  level  of  the  saloon  and  gambling  element,  has  noth- 
ing to  fear.  There  are  numerous  places,  in  town  and  out- 
side, where  it  is  not  safe  to  travel,  as  highwaymen  are  numer- 
ous, and  apt  to  extend  the  invitation,  "Hold  up  your  hands." 
In  those  cases  one  can  save  his  life  by  holding  up,  or,  better 
still,  by  exercising  a  little  care  about  where  he  goes.  If  I 
lived  in  El  Paso,  Socorro,  Deming,  Alberquerque,  Santa  Fe, 
or  Las  Vegas,  I  should  be  particular  not  to  get  far  beyond  the 
shine  of  the  street  lamp  in  the  evening.  In  the  day  time 
there  is  nothing  to  fear.  If  I  was  in  a  gambling  saloon  or  a 
dance  house,  it  would  not  surprise  me  to  get  poked  over  occa- 
sionally, or  perhaps  perforated.  But  I  should  try  and  have 
my  time  so  occupied  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  be 
there.  It  is  possible  to  avoid  rows,  but  it  is  easy  to  get  into 
them. 

The  virtue  of  the  common  Mexican  woman  is  not  prover- 
bial, though  there  are  some  cases  of  it  in  the  territory.  If 
the  Mormons  should  get  a  foothold  in  the  territory,  I  should 
predict  a  rapid  increase  of  that  church. 

Society  is  forming,  but  there  is  good  material  for  it  in  ev- 
ery town.  Churches  are  at  work,  quietly  of  course,  but  they 
are  organizing,  and  will  soon  have  plans  of  campaigns  mapped, 
and  put  their  skirmishers  out.     Ladies  dress  as  well  here  as 


HOW  MEXICANS  LIVE.  215 

anywhere,  many  of  them  sending  to  New  York  for  the  ready- 
made  garments,  the  same  as  in  the  east,  and  the  styles  are 
consequently  the  same  here  as  there.  Literary  societies  are 
forming,  and  sociables,  private  parties,  etc.,  occur  here  as  in 
older  places.  The  prevailing  public  entertainment  with  Mex- 
icans is  the  fandango,  which  corresponds  with  the  kitchen 
junket  in  Yankee  land,  only  it  is  much  larger.  They  also  get 
entertainments  in  the  fall  from  their  harvest  gatherings.  A 
whole  neighborhood  usually  forms  itself  into  agang,  and  goes 
from  ranch  to  ranch  to  do  the  farming.  In  this  way  they  ac- 
complish some  work  and  a  good  deal  of  visiting. 

People  live  well  on  the  juiciest  beef  and  mutton,  with  veg- 
etables, and  all  the  sweets  they  choose  to  make  or  buy  in 
cans.  Bacon  is  always  kept  on  the  ranches,  because  it  is  al- 
ways good,  and  keeps  well.  Stock  men  generally  have  the 
best  of  plain  food,  but  place  little  reliance  on  sweetmeats. 
Meals  have  more  of  a  sameness  here  than  in  New  England. 
Breakfast,  dinner  and  supper  are  much  alike,  and  there  is  not 
that  regular  round  of  diet  for  each  day  in  the  week,  as  in  New 
England.  Mexicans,  of  course,  have  their  tortillas,  chilas, 
and  other  peculiar  dishes,  which  would  not  be  relished  by  New 
England  stomachs.  The  breakfast  of  the  common  families 
usually  consists  of  chila,  or  a  kind  of  fried  turnover,  with  red 
pepper  filling,  bean  soup,  and  fried  sheep  meat.  For  dinner, 
mutton  stew  or  soup,  which  they  call  calda,  dried  squash, 
boiled  and  served  in  strips,  raw  onions,  and  onions  boiled  in 
every  dish.  For  supper,  tola,  or  roasted  corn,  ground  into 
meal,  boiled  into  a  mush,  and  served  with  goat's  milk  and  tor- 
tillas. Coffee,  when  they  have  it,  is  a  part  of  every  meal. 
Table  service  is  not  extensive.  The  family  usually  set  upon 
the  floor,  and  eat  out  of  a  common  dish,  usually  that  which 
the  meal  is  cooked  in.  They  know  the  American  custom  of 
sitting  at  a  table,  and,  should  an  American  be  present  as  guest 
of  the  family,  they  respect  his  opinions  by  imitating  his  cus- 
toms as  far  as  limited  means  will  permit.  The  hotel  cook  is 
a  failure,  so  far  as  we  have  tested  him,  though  I  must  make  an 


216  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

exception  of  those  employed  by  Fred  Harvey,  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  victualling  man,  who  is  running  a  dozen 
hotels  between  Kansas  City  and  Deming.  His  houses  are 
first-class,  and  his  cooks  are  imported  from  the  States,  and  are 
good.  Rum  and  tobacco  are  generally  used.  Nobody  thinks 
of  saving  his  character  by  going  out  behind  the  barn  to  drink. 
Character  and  rum  have  no  connection.  People  drink  at  their 
homes,  in  the  stores,  on  the  street,  in  the  cars,  everywhere, 
and  no  questions  are  asked.  The  Good  Templars  are  not  or- 
ganized yet,  and  probably  will  not  be  till  the  revolver  law  is 
superceded.  That  law  is  a  nuisance  to  reformers.  The  ci- 
garette is  the  omnipresent  companion  of  the  Mexican,  who  car- 
ries the  prepared  paper,  with  a  bag  of  tobacco,  and  manufac- 
tures the  article  to  suit  himself.  The  Mexican  women  are  not 
behind  in  this  luxury.  I  have  not  found  a  snuff  taker  in  the 
territory. 

Would  you  advise  Vermonters  to  emigrate  to  New  Mexico  ? 

It  is  never  safe  to  advise,  because  possible  dissatisfaction  or 
failure  may  be  credited  to  the  adviser.  Each  one  must  settle 
the  emigration  question  for  himself.  I  have  described  the 
country  as  well  as  I  could  on  a  fly — writing  letters  for  the 
most  part  on  the  cars — and  the  reader  can  consider  the  soil, 
the  climate,  the  state  of  society,  the  business  opportunities, 
and  make  up  his  own  mind. 

If  a  young  man  has -habits  half  made,  he  will  find  New 
Mexico  a  bad  country  in  which  to  complete  the  work.  If  his 
wild  oats  are  not  all  sown,  he  had  better  scatter  the  rest  of 
the  seed  in  Vermont.  Wild  oats  sown  here  are  apt  to  grow 
hemp  halters  and  leaden  bullets.  If  a  young  man  is  inclined 
to  be  rough,  boisterous,  rowdyish,  idle,  dissipated,  profane, 
meddlesome,  and  generally  obnoxious  in  deportment,  we  take 
the  risk  of  incurring  the  censure  of  decent  Vermonters  by 
advising  him  to  remain  in  that  State.  He  is  no  more  disa- 
greeable there  than  here,  and  is  much  safer.  He  should  stay 
at  home  till  he  realizes  the  folly  of  such  inclinations,  and 
learns  to  be  gentlemanly,  respectful,  industrious  and  temper- 


ON  THE  PROPRIETY  OF  EMIGRATING.  217 

ate.  A  young  man  of  good  habits,  well  rooted,  who  can  re- 
sist temptation,  who  is  straightforward,  honest,  sincere,  and 
who  desires  to  "grow  up  with  the  country"  into  a  good  man, 
a  useful  man,  and  a  rich  man,  will  find  New  Mexico  a  field  for 
the  full  scope  of  his  ambition.  His  work,  his  influence,  his 
intentions  are  needed  here,  and  will  secure  liberal  rewards  in 
the  way  of  money,  respect  and  position. 

To  the  middle  aged,  who  are  fixed  in  business,  making  the 
ends  meet  and  a  little  more,  who  are  happy  in  the  association 
of  friends  and  locality,  I  will  only  repeat,  "Let  well  enough 
alone."  By  following  this  precept  a  person  may  miss  one 
great  opportunity,  and  he  may  avoid  several  pitfalls.  There 
is  no  knowing  which.  The  precept  is  safe  advice,  always. 
Half  a  life  cannot  be  spent  without  forming  local  and  busi- 
ness habits,  associations  and  tastes,  which  become  part  of 
one's  self,  and  cannot  be  changed  without  loss  of  contentment 
and  happiness.  The  locality  of  an  old  home  is,  as  it  were,  a 
part  of  one's  individuality,  and  to  abandon  it  is  like  going 
away  from  one's  self.  Getting  money,  influence  and  position 
is  not  all  there  is  of  life,  nor  even  the  best  part  of  it.  The 
most  valuable  and  enjoyable  part  is  the  comfort  of  a  harmoni- 
ous home,  the  association  of  genial  and  true  friendships,  the 
gratification  of  pure  and  fixed  tastes,  coupled,  of. course,  with 
good  health  and  an  income  drawn  from  industry  and  frugali- 
ty, sure  and  sufficient  to  supply  rational  wants.  People  are 
often  as  happy  as  they  can  be,  and  do  not  realize  it.  Before 
the  middle  aged  make  a  change  in  life,  let  go  of  certain  sup- 
port, and  seek  new  enterprises  in  strange  countries,  they 
should  consider  the  risk  of  failure,  and,  if  that  is  overcome, 
they  should  ask  themselves  if  abundant  success  in  money  get- 
ting, coupled  with  the  associations  of  new  friendships  and  new 
places,  will  contribute  more  to  their  real  happiness  than  the 
old  income  of  moderate  proportions,  and  the  associations  of 
bygone  days. 

"Sweet,  sweet  home  !"     To  the  average  man  there  is  no 
place  like  it.     Whether  one  can  break  up  an  old  home,  and 


218  THE  EDITORS  RUN, 

build  a  new  one,  "'mid  pleasures  and  palaces,"  even,  or  out  on 
the  prairie,  or  anywhere  else,  and  still  hold  on  to  his  happi- 
ness, is  a  conundrum  which  a  second  person  can  not  decide. 
The  following  verses  give  the  testimony  of  one  Vermonter 
who  made  a  mistake,  and  confessed  it : 

Here,  where  there  is  ice  and  snow, 
Here,  where  the  cold  winds  blow, 
All  praise  to  thee  shall  go, 

To  thee — Vermont ! 
Thou  art  our  native  State, 
No  place  can  be  your  mate ; 
You  have  no  duplicate, 

Dear  old  Vermont ! 
On  every  mountain  side, 
In  every  brooklet's  tide, 
Through  all  the  meadows  wide, 

There's  love  to  thee. 
Where  woodmen's  axes  ring, 
"Where  men  rich  products  bring, 
Where  factories'  voices  sing, 

Your  wealth  we  see. 

Your  sons  you've  scattered  far ; 
Under  the  northern  star, 
To  where  the  palm  trees  are, 

They  will  be  found. 
And  in  our  country's  plight, 
When  hope  was  dark  as  night, 
They  proudly  led  the  fight, 

Our  nation  bound. 
In  every  gentle  breeze, 
In  all  the  grassy  leas, 
The  true  Vermonter  sees 

His  old,  old  home. 
In  other  lands  away, 

He  longeth  for  the  day  ■ 

When  he  can  gladly  say, 

I'm  bound  for  home. 


ATTEND  A  SUNDAY  SCHOOL.  219 


Run  No.  28. 


SABBATH  SCHOOL  IN  TRINIDAD— UTILIZING  THE  GOSPEL  ELEMENT 
—TRINIDAD  TO  KANSAS  CITY— THE  GOVERNOR  HOMESICK— PROG- 
RESS AND  PROSPECT  OF  KANSAS  CITY— APPEARANCE  OF  AN  OLD 
HUNTING  GROUND— VISIT  TO  LEAVENWORTH— DECLINE  OF  THE 
TOWN— D.  R.  ANTHONY— REPUDIATION  AND  DISGRACE— A  SAV- 
ING ELEMENT — PICKING  UP— GEORGE  C.  VAUGHN— C.  B.  PIERCE— 
THE  FORT— THE  RESERVATION  FARM— JIM  LANE'S  LAST  GATE 
—KANSAS  TEMPERANCE  LAW— SOCIETY  AND  PUBLIC  SPIRIT. 


Leavenworth,  Kan.,  Dec.  26,  1881. 

We  left  Raton,  N.  M.,  Sunday  the  18th,  taking  the  emigrant 
train  over  the  mountain  to  Trinidad,  Col.,  where  we  stopped  a 
few  hours,  and,  while  the  Governor  was  interviewing  At  Har- 
ris, formerly  of  Lyndon,  Vt.,  I  attended  Sabbath  school,  in  order 
to  work  back  into  shape  for  proper  appearance  in  the  States. 
I  had  not  forgotton  how  to  find  the  place  in  a  hymn  book,  or 
how  to  keep  up  my  end  of  the  line  on  a  "racket,"  which  is  what 
the  Governor  calls  singing.  As  I  was  compelled  to  leave  be- 
fore the  exercises  were  through,  the  superintendent  broke 
away  from  his  place  in  front,  came  down  the  hall,  met  me  at 
the  door,  introduced  himself,  and  said  he  was  satisfied  after  the 
singing  ol  the  first  hymn  that  I  had  been  inside  of  a  meeting 
house  before.  He  was  not  going  to  let  me  go,  until  I  told  him 
I  had  just  arrived  from  a  three  months  stay  in  New  Mexico, 
and  had  dropped  in  simply  to  see  how  much  Sabbath  school 
music,  manners  and  morals  I  had  forgotton,  that  it  was  time  for 


220  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

the  next  train,  and  I  was  anxious  to  hurry  home,  comb  out  my 
scalp,  which  I  had  fortunately  saved,  and  change  my  clothes. 
I  mention  this  incident  to  show  how  prompt  these  pioneer  church 
workers  are  to  save  and  utilize  every  gospel  element  which  ap- 
pears in  their  midst.  If  the  reader  fails  to  comprehend  the 
propriety  of  this  remark, — and  there  is  danger  of  it — I  will  ex- 
plain more  fully  at  a  future  time. 

From  Trinidad  to  Kansas  City  is  655  miles,  and  the  Atchi- 
son, Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  express  makes  the  distance  in  thir- 
ty-one hours,  an  average  of  twenty-one  miles  per  hour,  and  a 
good  record  for  the  usually  heavy  trains  on  that  line.  But  the 
trains  keep  right  to  business,  make  but  few  stops,  and  have  one 
of  the  best  of -road  beds  to  travel  on.  Two  hours  longer  time 
is  given  to  make  the  same  run  going  west,  owing  probably  to 
the  up  grade,  Trinidad  being  5,269  feet  higher  than  Kansas 
City. 

At  half  past  five  Tuesday  morning,  we  step  off  the  train  at 
the  big  union  depot  in  Kansas  City,  and,  in  the  great  recep- 
tion room,  with  people  of  all  shades,  ages  and  nationalities,  wait 
for  the  sun  to  rise.  But  it  didn't  rise  ;  the  sky  was  overcast 
and  the  chill  and  the  drizzling  rain  suggested  to  the  Governor, 
who  had  enjoyed  a  ten  weeks'  sunshine,  the  remark,  "We  are 
getting  towards  home."  The  Governor  was  homesick,  and  he 
made  this  remark  with  a  solemn  countenance,  and  a  glance 
towards  the  pleasant  climate  we  had  so  recently  left. 

During  the  past  three  years  both  Kansas  City,  on  the  Mis- 
souri side  of  the  Kansas  river,  and  Wyandotte,  on  the  Kansas 
side,  have  had  a  boom.  Wyandotte  is  the  Brooklyn  of  Kansas 
City,  numbering  6,000  or  8,000,  while  Kansas  City  numbers 
80,000.  Both  have  doubled  during  the  past  four  years,  and  are 
still  rapidly  growing.  During  my  last  visit  to  Kansas  City  I 
gave  a  full  description  of  its  rise  and  progress  up  to  the  time 
of  the  rebellion,  of  its  subsequent  decline,  and  of  its  second 
start.  I  will  only  repeat  that  in  1864  it  had  fallen  off  from  12,- 
000  to  6.000,  and  that  Leavenworth  was  far  in  the  lead,  and  con- 
fident of  always  keeping  it.  But  at  the  close  of  the  war  Kan- 
sas City  began  to  get  back  its  old  customers  in  the  southwest, 


KANSAS  CITY  AND  WYANDOTTE.  221 

soon  recovered,  and  went  up  to  40,000  in  1873,  when  the  hard 
times  overtook  her,  and  she  stood  nearly  still  until  1877 ;  then 
took  another  start,  and  has  since  doubled  her  population,  and  is 
still  on  the  go,  with  a  momeutum  which  only  a  national  finan- 
cial collapse -can  retard,  and  that  only  temporarily.  Kansas 
City  is  the  pivotal  locality  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States.  This  is  no\  an  all  important  consideration,  but  it  is 
something  to  be  the  central  point  of  such  an  immense,  such  a 
rich,  and  such  an  enterprising  country.  Her  dozen  or  more 
lines  of  railroads,  leading  away  towards  all  points  of  the  com- 
pass, and  hourly  emptying  into  that  Union  depot  people  from 
every  clime,  is  the  prime  cause  of  her  rapid  growth,  and  a  sure 
source  of  permanent  prosperity.  But  she  has  another  source, 
in  rich  land,  favorable  lor  fruit,  grain,  vegetables  and  stock. 
She  is  the  centre  of  an  extremely  fine  and  thickly  settled  agri- 
cultural country,  and  her  location,  with  her  enterprise  in  build- 
ing railroads,  makes  her  the  receiving  point  for  several  millions 
of  square  miles  of  territory  on  the  west,  which  is  rapidly  fill- 
ing up  and  destined  for  a  great  future.  Many  of  her  western 
customers  are  1200  to  1500  miles  away.  The  whole  line  of 
Rocky  Mountain  cities,  from  Denver  to  El  Paso,  and  how  much 
further  back  I  do  not  know,  trade  with  Kansas  City,  so  far  as  she 
can  supply  them. 

Kansas  City  and  Wyandotte  are  both  on  high  land,  and  be- 
tween them  is  a  mile  wide  of  bottom  land.  In  1864  I  hunted  fox 
squirrels  on  this  land,  then  an  uninhabited  forest,  and  could 
have  had  the  whole  of  it  for  $50  an  acre.  To-day  more  engines 
and  cars  can  be  seen  to  the  square  mile  moving  about  that 
bottom,  than  in  any  other  place  on  the  continent.  It  is  all 
built  over  with  depots,  packing  houses  and  business  houses. 
The  great  western  stock  yards  are  here,  occupying  acres,  and 
are  just  making  preparations  to  move  up  the  bottom  three 
miles,  to  Armourdale,  to  give  way  to  the  cry  from  builders  for 
more  room.  Armstrong,  two  miles  out,  on  the  Union  Pacific, 
in  Kansas,  has  sprung  up  within  a  few  years  as  the  great  repair 
shops  of  the  Union  Pacific.  Armourdale  started  last  fall  a  mile 
from  it,  and  is  growing  rapidly.     On  the  Missouri  side,  a  little 


222  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

way  from  Armourdale,  the  village  of  Argentine  started  a  year 
ago,  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  road,  and  has  now 
large  smelting  works  and  1,500  population,  to  double  the  com- 
ing summer.  Kansas  "City  and  her  surroundings  must  grow 
for  generations  to  come.     There  is  no  holding  her  back. 

On  Friday  morning,  leaving  the  Governor  to  inspect  the 
packinghouses,  stockyards,  and  other  institutions  of  the  town, 
I  took  the  train  for  this  city,  35  miles  north,  on  the  Missouri 
river.  Here  I  met  numerous  old  friends  of  1864,  who  were 
here  in  the  days  of  Leavenworth's  prosperity  and  great  expec- 
tation, have  lived  through  her  decline,  and  are  here  to  enjoy 
the  new  hope  of  to-day. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  Kansas  City  began  to  grow, 
and  Leavenworth,  with  her  1,000  population,  stood  still  a  year 
or  two,  in  surprise  and  doubt.  The  rival's  growth  continued, 
was  healthy,  soon  went  far  ahead,  and  Leaveuworth  began  to 
decline.  .For  ten  years  there  was  no  improvement,  her  real 
estate  was  a  burden,  her  streets  were  dull,  many  stores  were 
vacated,  and  scores  of  wealthy  and  prominent  business  men 
dropped  into  financial  obscurity. 

In  1864  the  Mayor  of  the  city  was  D.  R.Anthony,  an  unprin- 
cipled, unscrupulous,  pig-headed,  wilful,  turbulent,  persevering 
individual,  who  so  tried  the  patience  of  the  people  that,  after  a 
desperate  struggle  with  the  ring  of  officials  he  had  made  for 
the  purpose  of  holding  power,  they  managed  to  throw  him  over- 
board, and  supposed  they  had  buried  him.  But  his  restless 
disposition  kept  him  in  sight,  hunting  for  opportunities,  and 
crowding  for  place.  His  head  was  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of 
self-esteem  and  conceit  of  such  density  that  it  obscured  the 
opinion  entertained  of  his  qualities  by  the  community,  and  en- 
couraged him  in  crowding  himself  to  the  front,  until  the  com- 
munity, tired  of  holding  him  back,  let  him  into  the  Mayor's 
chair  again.  Then  he  got  hold  of  the  post-office  and  the  Daily 
Times,  which  he  still  holds,  and  he  is  really  to-day  one  of  the 
ruling  spirits  of  Leavenworth.  Add  to  this  misfortune,  the  dis- 
grace of  the  repudiation  spirit  which  sprang  up  and  resulted 
in  a  vote  to  go  back  on  just  debts  with  a  compromise  of  50 


LEAVENWORTH'S  DISGRACE.  223 

cents  on  the  dollar,  and  the  reputation  of  the  city  began  to  suf- 
fer. There  is  something  out  of  order  with  a  public  sentiment 
which  tolerates  a  bad  element  in  office,  or  goes  back  on  honest 
debts.  Any  community  guilty  of  both,  ought  not  to  expect 
prosperity. 

But  there  has  always  been  a  saving  element  in  Leaven- 
worth. She  has  a  few  citizens  who  have  steadily  favored 
good  men  for  office,  and  are  still  in  favor  of  paying  the  debt. 
This  element  is  gaining  ground,  and  in  proportion  as  it  gains 
the  hope  of  the  town  comes  up.  •  Anthony  still  holds  the 
post-office,  but  there  is  a  strong  effort  being  made  to  remove 
him.  The  debt  is  unpaid,  but  many  prominent  citizens  are 
anxious  to  pay  it  in  full,  and  thus  lift  the  stigma  of  repudia- 
tion from  the  city,  so  that  the  inhabitants  can  go  abroad  and 
uot  blush  when  they  say,  "I  am  a  citizen  of  Leavenworth." 
It  is  a  mortification  to  a  true  man  to  be  a  fraction  of  a  com- 
munity which  gets  money  on  promises  and  refuses  to  perform. 
During  the  past  two  years  the  city  has  been  picking  up,  old 
enterprises  are  quickening,  new  ones  are  going  in,  and  hope 
is  reviving.  The  population  is  about  18*,000.  The  best  busi- 
ness corners  of  1864  are  deserted,  and  the  trade  has  gone  up 
Delaware  and  Shawnee  streets,  where  a  few  fine  blocks  have 
been  built. 

I  met  here  George  C.  Vaughn,  formerly  of  St.  Johnsbury, 
who  has  the  best  drug  store  on  the  best  corner  in  the  city, 
and  is  having  a  lively  trade.  His  knowledge  of  and  his  at- 
tention to  business,  together  with  his  popular  manner,  make 
his  continued  success  certain. 

I  also  met  an  old  college  friend,  in  C.  B.  Pierce,  Esq.,  a 
resident  in  Leavenworth  for  20  years,  who  drove  me  to  the 
fort,  through  the  principal  streets,  and  to  the  different  points 
of  interest.  Mr.  Pierce  was  formerly  City  Attorney,  has 
been  Senator  from  the  county,  and  was  for  several  years  in  a 
large  mercantile  house  with  his  father-in-law,  Fairchild,  but 
retired  a  few  years  since  with  competence  enough  to  give  him 
occupation  in  looking  after  it.     His  faith  in  Leavenworth's  fu- 


224  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

ture  is  strong,  and  he  will  please  excuse  me  if,  from  the  bot- 
tom of  a  heart  which  despises  unscrupulous  public  servants 
and  repudiation  of  debts,  I  have  said  anything  disrespectful 
of  his  pleasant  little  city.  When  that  community  repudiates 
bad  men  instead  of  honest  debts,  and  rises  to  the  level  of  re- 
spectable credit,  where  it  will  find  Mr.  Pierce,  I  will  apolo- 
gize, and  speak  in  most  respectful  terms  of  the  city  and  her 
people. 

During  the  past  few  years  the  old  Leavenworth  fort  has 
been  much  improved,  and  'the  village  connected  with  it  has 
grown  into  considerable  magnitude.  This  is  the  great  suburb, 
an  attraction  of  Leavenworth,  and  every  visitor  to  the  city  is 
hacked  out  there  promptly  in  his  round  of  sight  seeing.  It 
is  certainly  one  of  the  most  conveniently  arranged,  attractive, 
and  substantially  built  military  posts  in  the  country.  The 
distance  from  the  city  is  about  two  miles,  and  the  avenue  lead- 
ing to  it  is  very  wide,  nicely  graded,  and  just  the  thing  for 
pleasure  drives. 

The  military  reservation  embraces  a  territory  three  or  four 
miles  squares,  called *by  the  residents  here  "the  government 
farm."  This  territory  is  leased  by  a  soft  contract  to  Col.  Wil- 
son, who  keeps  it  in  a  condition  pleasing  to  the  eye,  and 
profitable  to  the  pocket.  On  this  farm,  in  sight  of  the  Ave- 
nue, Mr.  Pierce  pointed  out  to  me  the  last  gate  which  the  fa- 
mous Jim  Lane  opened  and  shut.  He  had  spent  a  part  of 
the  day  at  the  government  farm  house  with  some  friends,  and, 
as  they  drove  away  down  the  lane,  on  their  return,  Jim  ap- 
peared to  be  in  usual  spirits.  Arriving  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  lane,  Jim  got  out,  opened  the  gate,  and,  as  the  carriage 
passed  through,  he  said,  "Good  bye,  friends,"  and  fired  a  re- 
volver into  his  mouth.  After  a  week  of  unconsciousness  the 
most  noted  politician  in  Kansas,  one  of  the  leading  spirits  of 
his  day  and  generation,  passed  in  his  checks,  and  went  over  to 
render  up  his  accounts. 

The  reader  has  heard  a  good  deal  about  the  Kansas  strin- 
gent temperance  law.     On  our  western  bound  trip  the  Gov- 


THE  KANSAS  LIQUOR  LAWS.  225 

ernor  seemed  to  be  a  little  alarmed,  as  we  entered  the  State, 
but  be  soon  became  calm,  and  I  afterwards  learned  from  him 
that  there  was  no  difficulty  in  procuring  supplies.  Of  course, 
in  a  few  small  towns  the  public  sentiment  is  strong  enough  to 
enforce  the  law,  and  occasionally  acts..  We  hear  such  is  the 
case,  but  have  not  seen  any  of  those  towns.  So  far  as  I  can 
judge,  liquor  selling  is  as  open  in  Kansas  as  in  Colorado.  To- 
peka  is  drunk  all  the  time,  Leavenworth  is  drunk  every  day 
in  the  week,  except  Sunday,  and  the  small  towns  are  drunk 
oft' and  on,  as  they  happen  to  get  opportunity;  that  is,  indi- 
viduals are  drunk  as  above  set  forth.  Leavenworth  comprom- 
ises with  the  guzzling  element  by  agreeing  to  let  it  alone  six 
days,  provided  the  saloons  are  closed  on  the  seventh.  Consider- 
ing the  law,  this  is  a  liberal  trade  for  the  rummies,  who  keep  their 
part  of  it  strictly.  It  is,  perhaps,  a  good  trade  for  Leaven- 
worth, as  it  is  a  first  step  in  the  direction  of  temperance,  ac- 
companied with  the  good  will  of  the  rum  element. 

The  society  in  Leavenworth  is  probably  better  than  that  of 
any  other  Kansas  town.  Good  society  and  repudiation  ought 
not  to  dwell  in  the  same  burg,  but  it  frequently  happens  that 
the  social  and  political  wires  of  a  town  are  not  in  the  same 
hands. 

No  town  in  the  State  gives  better  support  to*  schools  and 
churches,  no  town  claims  better  location  and  natural  advan- 
tages, no  town  has  better  men  or  handsomer  women  ;  yet  with 
all  these  good  things  no  town  has  so  poor  credit  away  from 
home.  Men  in  no  other  Kansas  town  are  obliged  to  spend 
breath  when  abroad  arguing,  explaining  and  apologizing  for 
the  disgraceful  condition  of  credit  at  home.  This  is  a  bad 
condition  for  individual  pride,  to  be  remedied  only  by  the 
manufacture  of  a  public  sentiment  which  will  insist  upon  a  re- 
view of  the  past,  and  future  justice  to  creditors. 

I  leave  here  to-day  for  Kansas  City,  and  if  I  find  the  Gov- 
ernor sufficiently  sober  we  shall  at  once  commence  a  "run" 
towards  home,  where  we  hope  to  find  the  good  people  of  Cal- 
edonia county  glad  to  see  us  and  willing  to  excuse  the  numer- 
15 


226  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

ous  imperfections  in  these  hastily  written  "runs."  We  have 
not  seen  a  Union  in  seven  weeks  and,  when  the  Governor 
reads  up  he  may  call  for  sympathy  from  the  people,  and  de- 
mand satisfaction  from  me.  I  shall  not  be  at  home  the  first 
time  he  calls. 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME.  227 


At  Home. 


We  reached  home  on  the  morning  of  January  1,  and  put  on 
the  editorial  harness  after  a  single  day's  rest.  The  first  con- 
tribution to  the  Union  came  from  Lyndonville,  and  was  very 
appropriate  as  an  illustrated  conclusion  of  the  "Runs."  The 
next  issue  of  the  Union  contained  the  following  acknowledge- 
ment  of  the  compliment : 

From  Union  of  January  20,  '82. 

Editor's  Run  No.  29  comes  to  hand  this  week,  in  the  shape 
of  a  crayon  cartoon  by  C.  E.  Grandy,  of  Lyndonville,  who 
has  sketched  the  Lyndon  depot,  the  bridge,  the  river  and  Min- 
ister hill  beyond.  The  train  stands  at  the  depot,  with  the 
steam  whistle  blowing  "Home,  Sweet  Home,"  and  the  editor, 
with  grip  sack  and  cotton  umbrella,  has  taken  a  double  quick 
for  the  "humble"  habitation,  leaving  a  line  of  No.  14  tracks 
behind  him.  The  Governor,  in  the  form  of  a  decrepit,  much 
abused  old  man,  is  hobbling  along  behind,  revived  somewhat 
by  the  editor's  call,  "Come  on,  Governor,  we  scent  the  Cor- 
ner !"  One  of  the  Governor's  hogs,  as  gaunt  as  a  grey  hound, 
has  escaped  from  the  pen,  and  come  down  the  road  to  meet 
him,  and  relate  a  tale  of  starvation  and  long  neglect.  On  the 
whole,  it  is  the  best  run  of  the  series.  Mr.  Grandy 's  concep- 
tion of  the  scene  is  very  correct,  only  he  hasn't  got  the  prop- 
er dimensions  of  the  Governor's  valise.  He  took  with  him 
an  ordinary  sized  leather  trunk,  with  grip  sack  handles,  and 
called  it  a  valise.     Everywhere  we  stopped  the  great  trial  to 


228  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

contend   with    was   that   valise-trunk.      If  the  distance  to  a 
hotel  was  short,  the  Governor  would  start  off  on  foot,  and  at 


"CATCH  HOLD  O"  HERE." 

the  first  corner  change  hands,  and  call  out,  "Catch  hold  o' 
here  !"  The  required  assistance  was  always  rendered  till,  hav- 
ing been  some  time  in  New  Mexico  and  Colorado,  he  was  im- 
pressed with  the  productions  of  the  country,  and  began  to  pack 
away  specimens  to  take  home.  Up  in  Taos  he  found  some  re- 
markable beans,  and  packed  a  sample  into  that  trunk  with  the 
grip  sack  handles.  Then  a  Mexican  showed  him  some  re- 
markable onions,  and  he  took  one,  about  the  size  of  a  four 
quart  measure,  and  packed  it  away  with  the  beans.  Down  in 
Alberquerque  he  got  hold  of  an  adobe  brick — a  twelve 
pounder— and  worked  that  in  alongside  of  the  onion.  At 
Socorro  he  knocked  off  the  corner  of  a  mud  house,  and  put 
that  in  beside  the  brick,  There  wasn't  anything  he  could  get 
hold  of  in  Deming,  except  sand,  and  he  scraped  up  a  couple 
quarts  of  that,  which  he  said  would  be  handy  to  use  in  Ver- 
mont by  way  of  illustrating  the  character  of  the  storms  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Territory.  At  El  Paso  he  worked  a 
large  soap  weed  in  beside  the  sand,  but  was  obliged  to  aban- 
don a  sample  of  El  Paso  fire  wood,  as  it  was  too  unshapely  to 
pack  with  anything  else.  He  got  a  shovelful  or  two  of  the 
red  soil  in  the  vicinity  of  Santa  Fe,  and  a  chunk  of  gray  rock 


THE  GOVERNOR'S  VALISE.  229 

used  for  railroad  ballasting.  There  was  a  guide  with  us  when 
we  visited  San  Miguel  Church,  or  there  would  now  be  less 
church  for  the  future  travelers  to  visit.  At  Las  Yegas  town 
lots  seemed  to  be  all  the  go,  but  I  succeeded  in  dissuad- 
ing him  from  packing  away  a  specimen.  Springer  contribut- 
ed a  few  samples  of  burro  shoes.  At  Cimarron  "M.  M."  had  a 
few  acres  of  mammoth  cabbages,  and  there  was  one  about 
the  size  of  a  two  bushel  basket  which  he  seemed  determined 
to  bring  away,  but  began  to  suspect  the  capacity  of  the  valise 
— it  was  a  trunk — and  contented  himself  with  taking  a  de- 
scription of  it  on  paper.  That  was  pleasant,  because  it  was 
easier  to  help  carry  the  description  than  it  would  have  been  to 
help  carry  the  cabbage.     Raton  was  the  last  town  in  New 

Mexico,  and  the  valise — I  mean  trunk was  getting  to  be 

a  square  match  for  two,  but  he  went  into  those  coal  mines  and 
increased  the  burden  with  a  few  substantial  specimens  of  New 
Mexico  fuel.  He  seemed  to  be  under  the  influence  of  some 
sort  of  kleptomania,  and  I  feared  he  was  trying  to  steal  the 
Territory  and  make  me  help  lug  it  away.  But  I  kept  reason- 
ably quiet  till  we  reached  Leadville,  and  he  began  to  pack  in 
quartz  rock  and  black  sand,  when  I  got  vexed  and  went  back 
on  the  whole  arrangement,  and  suggested  that  maybe  he  in- 
tended to  pack  in  a  specimen  girl  from  the  Leadville  theatre. 
The  remark  disgusted  him,  and  seemed  to  bring  him  out  of 
the  mania,  for  he  admitted  that  possibly  he  was  carrying  the 
specimen  enterprise  too  far.  Hiring  a  dray  to  haul  the 
va — trunk  to  the  depot,  he  made  an  inspection  of  the  contents, 
threw  away  a  part  of  New  Mexico  and  a  considerable  of  Col- 
orado, reduced  the  burden  to  the  capacity  of  a  two  man  pow- 
er, and  I  took  hold  again.  But  I  didn't  like  it.  It  affected 
the  disposition,  and  had  a  bad  effect  upon  the  letters  sent  back 
to  the  paper.  Grandy  should  try  again,  *and  get  the  proper 
dimensions  of  that it  was  a  trunk. 


INDEX. 


CONTENTS 


Run  No.  1. 
Through  Canada,  ------  PaCxE     5 

Run  No.  2. 
Chicago— her  past  and  present,      -  9 

Run  No.  3. 
Observations  from  Chicago  to  Kansas  City,     -  17 

Run  No.  4. 
In  Lawrence,  Kansas,  with  a  glance  at  her  bloody 

history,  and  her  present  prospects,       -  22 

Run  No.  5. 
In  Topeka — Considering  her  growth  and  the  Atch- 
ison, Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  railroad,     -  27 

Run  No.  6. 
From  Topeka  to  Trinidad,  Col.      -  33 

Run  No.  7. 
From  Trinidad  to  Cimarron,  N.  M.,        -         -         -  40 

Run  No.  8.  ' 
In  Cimarron,  and  among  the  stock  men,  -  47 

Run  No.  9. 
Wagon  trip  to  Elizabethtown  mines,       -  57 

Run  No.  10. 
From  Elizabethtown  to  Taos,  scenery,  prairie  dogs, 

mud  houses,  Taos  history,  etc.,    -  63 


232  THE  EDITOR'S  RUN. 

Run  No.  11. 
Among  the  Pueblos,      -         -         -  '      -         -         -  Page  73 

Run  No.  12. 
Return  from  Taos  to  Cimarron,      -  80 

Run  No.  13. 
On  game  and  hunting,  -         -         -         -  86 

Run  No.  14. 
On  the  methods  and  profits  of  stock  raising,  -  93 

Run  No.  15. 
On  land  grants,  pioneers,  official  scoundrels,  roughs, 

progress,  etc.,    -         -         -         -         -         -  104 

Run  No.  16. 

Wagon  trip  to  Wagon  Mound,  with  a  call  on  Uncle 

Gad,  Aunt  Kit,  and  others,  -         -         -.  114 

Run  No.   17. 

By  rail  from  Wagon  Mound  to  Deming,  -         -  122 

Run  No.  18. 

Return  from  Deming  to  Socorro,  with  reflections  up- 
on mining,  future  prospects,  etc.,         -        '-  129 

Run  No.   19. 

Socorro  to  Alberquerque,  with  reflections  continued,  137 

Run  No.  20. 

Alberquerque   to  Santa  Fe,  the  oldest  city  on  the 

continent,  '_-----  144 

Run  No.  21. 
Santa  Fe  to  Las  Vegas,  a  town  of  great  expectation,  153 

Run  No.  22. 
Las  Vegas  to  Raton,  the  Pittsburgh  of  New  Mexico,  161 

Run  No.  23. 
Raton  to  La  Junta,  out  on  the  prairie,    -         -         -  168 


INDEX.  233* 

Run  No.  24. 
Through  the  great   Arkansas  gorge,  and  up  in  the 

clouds  at  Leadville,     -  -Page  173 

Run  No.  25. 
Leadville  to  Denver,  the  distributing  point  of  the 

Rocky  range,      ------  182 

Run  No.  26. 
Denver  to  El  Paso,  Old  Mexico,  to  witness  the  bull 

fight  and  other  scenes  in  the  Gaudaloupe  feast,  190 

Run  No.  27. 
Return  to  Raton,  where  divers  questions  respecting 

the  territory  are  answered,  -  203 

Run  No.  28. 
Raton  to  Leavenworth,  Kansas,      -         -         -         -  219 

At  Home,        -        -        -  227 


• 


•    E.  Germain-,  Ed.  Germain,  I.  Fleishman. 

E.  GERMAIN  &  CO., 


DEALERS    IN    — 


California  Produce,  Etc. 

SOLE  AGENTS  FALK'S  MILWAUKEE  BEER. 

DEMIMi.   NKW  MEXICO. 

C.  H.  DANE, 

FORWARDING  AND 

doiiinii^iot}  ^iei4dlicii]t, 

DEMING,  N.  M. 

L.  A.  Grant,  Prest.  D.  B.  Lyons,   V.  Prest.  D.  G.  Edmi  ndson,  Sec'y. 

New  England  Loan  and  Trust  Company, 

First  Mortgage  Loans  Negotiated,  also  County,  School  and  Municipal  Bonds.    Securities 
in  Iowa,  Kansas  and  Dakota. 

BranCh0^%iSon,Kansa,  DB8MOINE8,     IOWA. 


CHAS,  M.  BA-YISTE,  EDWIN   B.  FRANKS. 

b-a-yixte  *s&  up n. a. axr k. js , 

ATTORAEts  AT  E.&W,  Raton.  A.  M. 

G.  W.  E.  Griffith,  President  of  Merchants  Bank.  Edward  Russell. 

GRIFFITH  &  RUSSELL, 

LAWRESCE,    KANSAS. 

Dealers  in  Kansas  Farm  Mortgages. 

Correspondence  solicited.    We  have  loaned  near  two  millions  of  dollars  in  Kan-as  within  the 

past  twelve  years;  and  have  resided  in  the  state  for  more  than  twenty-five  years,  and 

art-  familiar  with  it:-  law-  ami  values  of  land. 

WE  AIM   NOT  TO  EXTEND  OUR  LOANS  BEYOND  WHAT  WE  CAN  PERSONALLY  SUPERVISE. 

Abundant  references  given,  when  desired.    With  our  Mr.  Russell  the  Editor  of  the  Vermont 

Union,  C.  M.  Chase,  ha-  been  acquainted  for  many  year-. 

bebq  sc  :d:r.a.:k::e, 
CARPENTERS  -"  BUILDERS, 

Uemiug,  (Grant  Co..)  3Jew  Mexico. 

Flans  and  specifications  furnished  on  application.      LIVING  PRICES  and  good 
work.    .ay-All  kinds  of  work  from  surrounding  country  solicited,  and  en- 
tire satisfaction  guaranteed 


fTHE  SMITH  AMERICAN  ORGANCtQ 

WHOSE  INSTRUMENTS  ARK  KNOWN   AND  VAL- 
UED IN  ALL  PARTS  OF  THE   WORLD, 

which  come  in  successful 
competition  with  the  best,  have  estab- 
lished branch  houses  in 

KANSAS  CITY,  MO., 

At  817  Main  Street,  and  in 

-A.TT_.A.3SrT.A.,    GEIOIRGKIIA. -, 

AT  27  WHITEHALL  STREET.  WHERE  SPECIMENS  OF  THE  VARIOUS  STYLES  OF 

ORGANS  AND  PIANOS 

May  be  had  at  Lowest  Eastern  Prices. 
The  attention  of  Dealers,  and  of  the  musical  public  is  res- 
pectfully invited.     {^Send  for  a  Catalogue. 

BOSTON,  Mass.,  April  22, 1882. 


Tho  Improved 


£M  wmiMkmxmm*     m^afomMtifotm  & 


]VI^VT3E    BY   THK 


C5P 


Established  1856,  Rutland.  Vt. 

Philadelphia.  187G,  First  Prize,  Paris,  1878,  First  Prize,  Sidney,  1879-80, 
First  Prize,  First  and  only  Ciold  Medal  at  Atlanta,  1881. 

OVER  200  MEDALS  IN  THE  LAST  FIVE 
YEARS,  at  as  many  exhibitions. 

4@=  Unequalled  for  Workmanship,  Finish,  Durability  and  Sensitiveness.    Used 
exclusively  where  accuracy  and  durability  are  required. 

PAGE,  FARGO  &  CO., 

325  BROADWAY,  N.  Y. 

321  LIBERTY  STREET,  PITTSBURGH.  507  MARKET  STREET.  PHILADELPHIA.     ' 


CARRIAGE  EMPORIUM, 

Eastern  Avenue,  St.  JOHNSBU^Y,  Yt, 


ALWAYS  ON   HAM) 


The  Largest  Supply  of  Carriages  to  be  found  in  the  State, 

INCLUDING 

Open    and    Top    Buggies, 

Blxaetcxtis*,    "\7K7"lxito    Clx^vipioolsj., 
Bre\^rster    JSxdo    Bars, 

IF^XMLXly    CJ^\x-x-i«.go«5i,    c£?c, 
FKOM  THK  REST  MANUFACTURERS  I*  AKW  ENGLAND. 
DT"  The  BEST  PLACE  IN  VERMONT  to  select  a  NOBBY  BUGGY,  and  Get  it  CHEAP ._^J 

H.      O.      MOORE. 

St.  Johnsbury  File  Works. 

JAUVXIEJS    3XTCXTT,    3F»r<3iD?r, 

Manufactures  all  kinds  of  FILES  and  RASPS. 

ALSO  RE-CUT  ALL  KINDS. 

The  BEST  work  Guaranteed  for  the  LEAST  money. 

AST  All  Orders  by  Mail  or  Express  will  Receive  Prompt 

Attention. 


ST.  JOHi\SBIK\,  VERMONT, 

BRASS  AND   IRON    FOUNDRY. 

Manufacturer  of   the    Best  Working  and  most  Economical    Side-Hill  Plow  in  the 

Market.    All  kinds  of  Plows  Repaired,  and  Parts  famished.    All  kinds  of 

Brass  and  Iron  Castings  furnished  on  short  notice,  and  at 

jm-  REASONABLE  PRICES.  =®ft 

DEAN'S  PATENT  BOITE  MILL, 

For  grinding  green,  raw  bones  without  any  preparation,  into  Bone  Meal  suitable 

tor  stock,  Fowls  and  Fertilizer.     Also  for  oyster  shell!,  guano,  chalk,  lime. 

slate  and  sopastone,  teed  corn,  etc.,  etc. 

WHEF.T iTSB.   <£s   CJO-,  JSt-  «roli2isTD-ii.ry,  "\7"t. 

Manufacturers  of  Wood-Working  Machinery,  and  dealers  in  Engines,  Boilers,  &c. 

BEFORE  BUYING  YOUR  TICKET  TO  NEW  MEXICO, 

:*0- Obtain  an  Accident  Policy! 

And  in  case  of  accident,  draw  (10.00  to  s.'io.uo  a  week  while  you  are  disabled. 

F.  D.  BLODCETT  <&  CO., 

BANK  BLOCK,  ST.  JOHNSBURY,  VT. 


Ticket  and  Land  Agent,         Passumpsic  R.  R.  Ticket  Office,  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. 

Tickets  For  Sale  to  all  points  in  the  West,   North  West,  and  South- West,  via  the 

Principal  routes,  at  the  lowest    rates.    Tickets  via  Allen  Line  of  steamers,  or 

other  lines,  to  principal  points  in  Europe,  and  Foreign  Countries.    Agent 

for  sale  of  Railway  Bands  in  the  West.     JSSf  Correspondence  promptly 

answered,  and  information  cheerfully  given. 


I,*  §mhj  (Optic, 


LAS  VEGAS,  N.  M. 

.Ajsr  ^LFTEiK,jsrooisr  paper. 

Will  give  all  the  news  in  a  spicy  form,    lias  a  general  circulation  throughout  tin; 
territory,  affording  an  unequalled  advertising  medium. 

Terms  $1.00  per  month,  $10  per  year.     Weekly  $3.00  per  year. 
K.    \.  KISTLEY,  Editor  and  Proprietor. 

exit  a  <ffews&§j£i[e$8 

RA.TOKT,   3NT.  3VE- 

A  seven  column  Paper  Published  Every  Saturday, 

By  GEORGE  v.  (ANN  is.  Editor  and  Proprietor. 
LARGELY  DEVOTED  TO  THE  INTERESTS 

OF   STOCK  RAISING,  MINING,  &o. 
Price    $3.00    per    Year. 

The  official  paper  <>i  Colfax  County,  also  designated  by  the  Government  as  a  medium  for  the 

publication  of  Laws.  Treaties,  Postal  Arrangements,  Contracts,  Ac. 


eroing  Headlight 


X>DE3VEI3\TGr,  3XT-  3VE. 

A  weekly  paper  devoted  to  mining,  stock  raising,  and 
the  general  interests  of  the  territory. 

It  gives  all  the  News  and  keeps  square  up  with  the  times. 

Subscription  Price,  per  annum,  $ft.OO. 

J.  E.  CURRIER,  Editor  and  Proprietor. 

JPmttt  Hitter. 

D.  A.  BECKWITH  &  CO.,  Editors  and  Publishers, 

A  Semi-WeeMy  Seven  Column  paper  devoted  to  territorial  and  general 
news.     Located  in  the   richest  mining  region  in  the  country, 
it  will  be  found  of  especial  value  to  people  every 
where  interested  in  that  branch  of  industry. 

Terms  :  I  Year  $5;  6  months  $3;  3  months  $2. 

Cjre  Santa  Jfe  gailg  ffrfo  IJtoan*. 

PUBLISHED  EVERY  MORNING  EXCEPT  MONDAY. 

Represents  the  progressive  enterprising  spirit  which  is  i<>  make  of  New  Mexico 
a  great  mining  and  pastoral  district ;  the  oldest  paper  in  Hie  territory,  nix!  recog- 
nized as  the  leading  one. 

Suloscription   JFL^tes  : 
DAILY  prr  annum,  $10;  WEEKLY  per  annum,  $2;  WEEKLY  Minim;  NEWS,  $2.00; 

Weekly  New  Mexican  \m>  Mining  News,  $3.         &#  Advertising  charges  fur- 
nished on  application. 

CHAS.  W.  GREEN,  Manager. 


The  New  California  Line 


VIA.    *^ 


^tclwon,  (gyopelm  mid 

§<mta  <ge  §mlrcmdt 


A.1STJD 


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OPEN  FOR  BUSINESS  ALL  THE  YEAR  ROUND. 

BEST  ROUTE 


FOE    ALL    POINTS    IN 


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JL.A.S   VEGAS,    3NTE^W    MEXICO. 

THROUGH  LINE  TO  OR  FROM  CALIFORNIA. 

(j^SjloKTF.L    THAN     BY     ANY    OTHER    ROUTE  ! 
W.    F.    MHITE, 

Genera]  Pass,  and  Ticket.  Agent, 

TOPEKA,  KANSAS. 


